Explosion Characteristics of Carbon Nano-Fibers

Dust explosion is a hazard with serious consequences. While the main principle of dust explosion is still being exploring, the gap of dust explosion between particles of micro-size and those of nano-size also needs tremendous efforts. The explosion characteristics of CNFs are studied in Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center. These experiments are conducted in a 36-L explosion vessel, which has been calibrated with a standard 20-L explosion vessel. Among the experiments, different kinds of CNFs of different grades and different conditions (milled and unmilled) are used. Compared with collected published data of graphic particles of micro-scale, the experimental data shows that the carbon nano-fibers create a higher Kst than the micro-scale ones. The results also show that explosion of the XT-PS grade (Pyrolytically Stripped) is much stronger than that of the XT-LHT grade (Low Temperature Heat-treated) and XT-HHT grade (High Temperature Heat-treated). Also, the explosion of milled CNFs is stronger than the unmilled ones. Further study to seek the causes is undergoing.