This book consists of two parts, the first of which focuses on combustible solids, and the second on the industrial position concerning these materials. It includes practical data and information on all biomass sources, from woodchips to sewage sludge, as well as mixtures.
Biomass materials are rapidly becoming a fundamental energy source, and their consumption will surpass that of fossil fuels in the near future. The risk of explosion of biomass dust materials can lead to massive economic and human losses worldwide, and applies to every facility that produces, processes or handles these materials. A better understanding of the risk could help reduce the number of accidents; until now, however, no book has been published on the subject.
This book is the first to gather the latest information, both from the authors and from other researchers, while also providing explanations and clarifications of how to correctly determine the most relevant parametersand use them to ensure safer environments. It was written in clear, straightforward language to make it accessible for a broad range of readers, from students to senior researchers.
Dr. Nieves Fernandez-Anez finished her thesis on flammability of biomasses at the Universidad Politecnica of Madrid in 2016, where she was involved in experimental testing and data analyses concerning the explosibility of solid biofuels since her last years of undergraduate study. Afterwards, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher on fire safety at Imperial College of London with Professor Guillermo Rein, and is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Fire Safety and HSE Engineering, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences.
Blanca Castells graduated from the Mining Engineering Technical School (Technical University of Madrid) with a Bachelor of Mining Technology Engineering in 2015 and an M.Sc. in Mining Engineering in 2017. She began her Ph.D. studies (at the same university) in 2017, focusing on the flammability properties of solid biomasses and biomass efficiency improvement through the torrefaction process. Since 2017, she has been working at the Laboratorio Oficial Madariaga, carrying out research activities such as flammability and thermal tests, but also as a mining engineer, in the context of an industrial safety for mining operations initiative commissioned by the Government of Spain.
Isabel Amez Arenillas has been a Ph.D. student in the field of Industrial Safety at the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) since 2018. Her research chiefly focuses on the flammability characteristics of ternary and quaternary gas mixtures regarding the flammability interval. From 2017 to 2019, she worked as a project engineer at the Laboratorio Oficial Madariaga (LOM), where she developed R&D projects in the Technical Assistance and Research Department and collaborated with the Quality Department in the context of equipment management.
Prof. Garcia-Torrent has been researching dust explosions for more than 30 years. He is a Professor at the Department of Energy and Fuels at the Universidad Politecnica of Madrid, aswell as the Head of the Laboratorio Oficial Mariaga. He was previously Head of the Flammable Substances Division at the same institution, which is the only Spanish laboratory that offers explosiveness testing that allows combustible dust to be characterized. He also leads the postgraduate program on explosive atmospheres at the Universidad Politecnica of Madrid, which includes a module on dust explosions.
The authors have released several publications on the topic, and have extensive experimental and theoretical experience in the field of dust explosions.
