

Taiwan dust explosion injures 500 vs. Mythbusters Creamer Powder Explosion - stefap2

A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air. Dust explosions can occur where dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high enough concentrations in the atmosphere.<p>This is what happened this weekend in Taiwan:
http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.cnn.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;06&#x2F;28&#x2F;asia&#x2F;taiwan-water-park-explosion&#x2F;<p>For a comparison see what happens with a right mixture of otherwise benign creamer powder and air:
https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=yRw4ZRqmxOc
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PaulHoule
Dust explosions are like a fuel-air bomb in that the energy yield per pound is
greatly improved by the use of oxidizer from the air.

They've gotten away with this so far because it is pretty hard to ignite that
kind of powder. You've got to get a pretty good area (a foot cubic or so) of
dust to the boiling point before a self-sustaining reaction is at all assured.
A match won't do it, and not static electricity (much safer than flash
powder), think of a small campfire.

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socceroos
I feel for those caught up in it. But boy, oh boy, did it look like a scene
from Hell!

