(41ai) Investigating the Flammability Hazard of Charcoal Fines

Charcoal has many applications (fuel, reductant, filter, catalyst, adsorbent etc.) and is widely used across various industries. During its handling/processing, charcoal may yield fine particles (micron scale) that can accumulate to form a dust layer/pile over time. This can cause a significant dust deflagration/flammability hazard. Studies have been conducted to investigate the flammability hazard of charcoal fines; however, they lack sufficient information (particle size, type of charcoal, moisture etc.) and show contradictory information. This investigation studied the flammability hazard (cloud ignition sensitivity (MIE), pile runaway oxidation (fire/smoldering)) of charcoal with different properties (ash content, particle size). Results show that charcoal dust cloud is not ignition sensitive (MIE >1000mJ), however a charcoal dust layer/pile can be prone to runaway oxidation (fire/smoldering) under certain conditions. Other properties (MAIT, LIT etc.) may be required to aid holistic risk assessment.