An analysis of flammability and explosion parameters of coke dust and use of preliminary hazard analysis for qualitative risk assessment

Abstract

Appropriate investments are required to achieve sustainable industrial development and safety conditions at the same time. A sufficient safety level is achieved when research outcomes are deployed in practice. This paper comprises a review of ignitability and explosive parameters and thermogravimetric tests of coke dust selected for the needs of the testing The KSt value of the tested dust was 64.2 bar·m/s, which means that it belongs to explosion hazard class 1 and that it has relatively low explosive abilities. The maximum explosion pressure for the tested dust was found to be 6.84 bar, and the minimum ignition temperature of a coke dust layer with a thickness of 50 mm was 400 °C. The use of the Preliminary Hazard Analysis in plants in which coke dust is present allows for limiting the scope of the risk analysis by eliminating elements that are either insignificant or of low significance from the viewpoint of explosion hazard. The adopted method allows qualitative assessment of the risk associated with threats, dangerous situations, and hazardous events that may take place during the use of devices, machines and their systems, and subsystems, including a qualitative evaluation of potential consequences of an accident or possible health loss. Risk assessment for life safety under building fires and explosions plays an important role in performance-based fire and explosion protection design and fire insurance ratemaking. The motivation for this work was the integrated protection of people, process equipment, building resilient infrastructure, promotion of inclusive and sustainable industrialization, business operation, and the natural environment.