Due Diligence Prevention of dust explosions in pellet plants benefits from new research. “ he generation of dust never gives up and can only be fought with dili-gence.” It may seem a bit over-dramatic, but the risk of dust explosions in pellet manu-facturing plants is serious business and must be treated as such. Recently, the Wood Pel-let Association of Canada (WPAC) released a report that outlines steps pellet mills can take to assess and minimize the risk of dust explosions in their facility and it concluded with the above quote. Penned by research director Staffan Melin, Determination of Explosibil-ity of Dust Layers in Pellet Manufacturing Plants looks at dust explosions in the pellet industry and outlines a dust management scheme that would eliminate much of the risk at a minimal cost. The report also discusses risk assessment, dust sampling and cat-egorization methods. In pellet manufacturing plants, clean-ing and monitoring dust levels hasn’t al-ways received the attention it deserves, as the priority is usually keeping the plant operating and producing revenue. “Clean-ing of floors is a nuisance since the genera-tion of dust never stops but it is as impor-tant as regular maintenance of machinery,” states the report. However, it offers a methodology for evaluating how much dust on floors, gird-ers and beams is acceptable in order to en-sure a safe working environment. While there are published guidelines on the subject, most aren’t specific to the kinds of dust produced in pellet plants, and that’s where the WPAC report comes BIOMASS $"/"%*"/ Volume 5 No. 5 Editor -John Tenpenny (905) 713-4351 [email protected] Associate Editor -Andrew Macklin (519) 429-5181 [email protected] Editorial Director/Group Publisher -Scott Jamieson (519) 429-3966 ext 244 [email protected] Contributors -Gordon Murray, Isabelle des Chenes, André Dumont, Rob Cruickshank, Andrea Kent Market Production Manager Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] National Sales Manager Ross Anderson Ph: (519) 429-5188 Fax: (519) 429-3094 [email protected] Quebec Sales Josée Crevier Ph: (514) 425-0025 Fax: (514) 425-0068 [email protected] Western Sales Manager Tim Shaddick [email protected] Ph: (604) 264-1158 Fax: (604) 264-1367 Media Designer -Kelli Kramer Canadian Biomass is published six times a year: February, April, June, August, October, and December. Published and printed by Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. Printed in Canada ISSN 2290-3097 Circulation Carol Nixon e-mail: [email protected] P.O. Box 51058 Pincourt, QC J7V 9T3 Subscription Rates: Canada -1 Yr $49.50; 2 Yr $87.50; 3 Yr $118.50 Single Copy -$9.00 (Canadian prices do not include applicable taxes) USA – 1 Yr $60 US; Foreign – 1 Yr $77 US Occasionally, Canadian Biomass magazine will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above.. No part of the editorial content of this publica-tion may be reprinted without the publisher’ s written permission ©2012 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’ s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. T in. Based on lab testing, the report offers pellet plant operators information to eval-uate the necessary safety precautions that need to be taken as it relates to “house-keeping” or controlling dust levels. According to the report, keeping up-to-date records, using the correct methodology to record dust accumulation and sharing this informa-tion with everyone in the plant are key to a success-ful plan to control dust ex-plosions. “Whoever is as-signed the responsibility of controlling the dust level in a manufacturing plant should be equipped with methodology to record thickness of dust accumu-lation in layers and spaces where dust is continuously suspended in the air. Inspections and recordings need to be done at preset intervals. This should be done every time just before vacuuming takes place.” A well-kept record of thickness measurements seems to be the best ap-proach, concludes the report: “A well calibrated thickness meter and well-kept record of measurements could eliminate much uncertainty and disputes regard-ing safe operating procedures and elimi-nate poorly designed operating equip-ment and procedures.” This method also promotes collaboration amongst employees at all levels, keeping the issue of dust explosions and their prevention top of mind. Dust will continue to fall in pel-let plants, just as the industry’s diligence to-Ü>À`ÃÊÃ>viÌÞÊÜÊVÌÕiÊÌÊÀÃi°ÊU John Tenpenny, Editor [email protected] 4 Canadian BIOMASS AUGUST 2008 www.canadianbiomassmagazine.ca
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