GCPS Conference/ Pyrophoric Metal Dusts Publication/ Dust Explosion Course
Welcome to our latest issue of Process Safety Dispatch!
In this issue we invite you to come meet us at the AIChE Global Congress on Process Safety in Houston, we present a recent publication on pyrophoric behavior of metal dusts and remind you of your latest opportunity to study with us at our next virtual combustible dust course ‘Exploding Dusts’.
AIChE 2023 Spring Meeting and 19th Global Congress on Process Safety
Date: March 12, 2023 to March 16, 2023
Venue: Hilton Americas – Houston, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX
It’s conference time of year again, and this year, the 19th Global Conference on Process Safety (GCPS), will be in Houston. Stonehouse will be there, and we would love for you to pop along to our exhibition booth 109 to say hello again, perhaps have a chat, and to talk about any current process safety issues you may have. We’ll be there every day.
Also, you might like to come along to the paper we will the presenting on March 14th, 2023 at 10:00am-10:30am at the George R. Brown Convention Center – 370. Our topic is Electrostatic Hazards: Identifying the Early Warning Signs to Reduce Explosion Risk, by Vahid Ebadat, Ph.D. and Paul Cartwright, D.Phil., presented by Vahid. You may recognize this as a topic we have previously covered in Process Safety Dispatch. Well, the conference is your opportunity to hear about these latest ideas in electrostatics process safety and to discuss, question, and discover what they might mean for you.
Pyrophoric Behavior of Metal Dusts
You might recall that back in October 2022, we presented a piece in Process Safety Dispatch on a fatal blender explosion that involved zirconium powder. Since then, one of our Principal Process Safety Specialists has worked more on the topic and written a technical paper, published in Process Safety Progress. [Ref. Prugh R., Pyrophoric behavior of metal dusts, Process Safety Progress, 2023;1. doi:10.1002/prs.12435]. We recommend this paper to you, as well as the dedicated NFPA standard NFPA 484: Standard for Combustible Metals, Metal Powders, and Metal Dusts; and we have prepared an Introduction to NFPA 484 on our web site.
You might also be interested in the table below with referenced Dos and Don’ts when handling/ processing pyrophoric metal dusts. We present the table from Richard Prugh’s technical paper as an aid and encouragement for you to read his full paper in Process Safety Progress.
Abbreviations: CSB, chemical safety board; NFPA, national fire protection association; PPE, personal protection equipment.