Hybrid mixture explosions in an industrial polymer production process

Abstract

This paper presents research on the explosibility of industrial high-density polyethylene (HDPE) dust. Experiments were conducted to investigate the explosion behaviour of the HDPE dust as well as of HDPE/ethylene hybrid mixtures. The dust explosion results further emphasize the importance of avoidance of accumulation of fine particles, as finer samples had lower explosion likelihood and higher explosion severity parameters. Hybrid mixture explosion data is presented in the form of explosion regime diagrams, which can assist process operators and designers to promote the inherently safer transfer of polymer particles. Finally, inherently safer approaches to dust explosion prevention and mitigation in relation to the results of this study have been discussed.