A common question for our dust testing lab is, “How should I ship my sample?” As a result, we created a dust collection kit. It is not a requirement to use the Fauske Dust Collection Kit, but it is available at a minimal cost, if you will find it helpful to collect and ship your sample. The kit includes 4 half-gallon plastic jars with screw top lid, 4 labels and a Fauske pen to fill out the labels. If you would like to order a kit and/or get a quote for testing, contact us at dust@fauske.com.  Items that are needed to move forward with sample characterization are the safety data sheet (SD ..read more

Reactive chemical hazards are a special subset of chemical hazards that can be present whether the reaction is intended or not, and the results can have catastrophic consequences such as explosion, fires, or harmful chemical releases. Some materials are even thermally unstable in the absence of an intentional chemical reaction. Examples of thermally unstable materials includes self-reactive materials, organic peroxides, explosives, and uninhibited monomers. Important tools for characterizing the hazard associated with the thermal stability of materials are adiabatic calorimeters. These tools p ..read more

Chemical systems and processes that require the handling of flammable gases and vapors should have preventative and mitigative measures in place to ensure the safety of employees and facilities. These measures can be properly implemented by first obtaining the needed test data from various flammability experiments, such as flash point tests, and following up by installing the recommended preventive/mitigative safeguards which may include LFL/UFL detectors, oxygen monitors, rupture discs, flame arrestors, and explosion relief panels. Before a process that has flammable material is put into serv ..read more

Dicumyl peroxide is a commonly employed dialkyl peroxide used as a high temperature crosslinker in rubber and plastics applications [1]. A common use of dicumyl peroxide includes initiation of the polymerization of ethylene to produce low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Dicumyl peroxide is known to thermally decompose to acetophenone (high boiling liquid) and methyl radicals (gas), and the system has been extensively studied [2-5]. In terms of vent sizing, the thermal decomposition of dicumyl peroxide is classified as a gassy system otherwise known as a non-tempered gas generating reaction. The r ..read more

FATE™ (Facility Flow, Aerosol, Thermal, and Explosion) is a flexible, fast-running code developed and maintained by Fauske and Associates under an ASME NQA-1 compliant QA program. It is a specialized tool that is commercially available, but it is primarily used to support our related safety consulting services. FATE has advanced capabilities to model heat and mass transfer, fluid behavior, and aerosol behavior in a variety of applications for the nuclear, chemical, and manufacturing sectors. FATE aerosol and transport models are universal and not restricted to nuclear or chemical release. This ..read more

Oxidizing Solids (Combustible Dust Hazard) continued on page 4 Oxidizing substances increase the combustion capabilities of nearby materials, usually by acting as a more reactive oxygen source than the ambient oxygen in the air. The oxidative strength of an oxidizer can vary wildly based on its composition and, especially for solids, factors like particle size and moisture content. As such, classifying oxidizers based on their relative oxidative strength is important for determining the proper safety measures when storing, shipping, and handling oxidizers. The UN Model Regulations assign Divis ..read more

Growing interest in hydrogen builds on the recognition that clean hydrogen can play a crucial role in global decarbonization. Currently 40% of all carbon dioxide emissions come from power plants burning fossil fuels to generate energy. Other relatively high pollution sectors include transportation and industrial factories. Consumption of hydrogen for energy produces only water, and hydrogen has a high energy density by mass, which makes it an interesting low carbon alternative. The demand for hydrogen has increased threefold since 1975 and is expected to continue this trajectory, with the dema ..read more

Onset temperature is the lowest temperature at which a chemical reaction is occurring at a measurable rate. Unlike certain flammability related quantities, chemical reactions are essentially always occurring, and there is still non-zero rate of reaction even at low temperatures where measurement is not possible. In other words, there is not a temperature “switch” that initiates a reaction. Therefore, the reported onset temperature is highly dependent on the instrument sensitivity, the procedure utilized for collecting the data (i.e. the time-temperature history of the material), the type of in ..read more

Adiabatic calorimetry is a powerful tool that can be used to support plant safety. A calorimeter is a device that is used to measure the amount of heat associated with chemical or physical processes. An adiabatic calorimeter is designed to ensure that there is no heat transferred between the system and its surroundings. Therefore, an adiabatic calorimeter is designed so that the exothermic heat produced by a reaction directly goes to increasing the temperature of the material. As the temperature increases, the rate of reaction often exponentially increases. On a large plant scale, the availabl ..read more

  Why perform a risk analysis? Risk Analysis goes by many names and many acronyms. While the techniques differ by industry or application (see Tables 1 and 2), all are set to accomplish the same goal: to identify hazards within a process. Some industries have regulatory requirements to perform risk assessments. Others are prompted by insurers or another Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) or have been initiated by internal corporate objectives. The results of a risk analysis can be used to justify process improvements. Additionally, identifying and mitigating hazardous scenarios th ..read more