A review of grain dust explosions: Prevention and control

Grain dust generated during processing, storage, and transportation poses significant risks, including occupational health hazards, mechanical equipment damage, environmental pollution, and the potential for catastrophic explosions. Globally, grain dust explosions cause severe losses to life, property, and infrastructure annually. This review focuses on characteristic parameters, influencing factors, chemical reaction mechanisms, and prevention and control strategies of grain dust explosions. To identify key research directions and future preventive measures, we systematically analyzed existing literature through the following aspects: 1) A synthesis of review articles and accident statistics in the introduction; 2) Explosion processes and causes, flame propagation characteristics, and chemical reaction mechanisms; 3) Explosion characteristic parameters and their influencing factors; 4) Explosion prevention and control measures; 5) Numerical simulation methodologies. Finally, the study's findings and prospects are summarized in the conclusion. The results of this study can provide practical insights for selecting explosion suppression materials, optimizing equipment design, and improving dust removal systems, ultimately reducing fire and explosion risks in the grain industry. Future research should prioritize the development of advanced joint control technologies to achieve intrinsic safety in grain processing and storage.