Suppressants for the control of industrial explosions
Journal of Loss Prevention in the Process Industries, 9 (1):
119--123 (1996)DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0950-4230(95)00045-3
Abstract
Explosion suppression is now a well established means of mitigation
against the consequences of a gas or dust explosion in industrial
processing. Such systems were first deployed by Graviner Ltd (Maisey,
H.R. Chem. Process Eng., March 1959) in the early 1950s following
development of the technology for military purposes. The first industrial
explosion suppression systems used proprietary halons as the explosion
suppressant. By the mid-1970s, dry chemical power suppressants were
becoming established as the preferred suppressant because of their
superior suppression performance. Today water and halon suppressants
are only deployed where they offer specific benefits over the dry
chemical powders. The Montreal Protocol (UNEP, Sept. 1987 amended
1991 & 1992) has imposed controls on the availability of most halons--a
production ban came into effect in the UK on 1 January 1994--because
these agents have a proven ozone-depleting effect in the upper atmosphere.
Not surprisingly, the chemical industry has identified a range of
alternative agents that are environmentally friendly and have fire-extinguishing
properties. Some of these agents are now being assessed as options
for explosion suppression. This paper considers the demand on an
explosion suppressant and contrasts the effectiveness of available
suppressant agents against industrial explosions.