The fuels handling team at one of our facilities adamantly subscribes to the “no visible footprints” logic in their proactive practices. One of the other facilities, however – not so much. FYI: This pulverized fuel is also quite commonly used in the cement industry for injection-fueling their kilns.

As someone in your position obviously realizes, this article is little more than a primer – the tip of the proverbial iceberg if you will – when it comes to discussing the management & control of this particular particulate hazard. We’ve seen footage where an unrelated primary explosion in a facility caused the accumulated PRB dust to enter into suspension, creating an exponentially larger, secondary explosion of catastrophic proportions.

With the implementation of the Federal Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, Industry saw many facilities re-engineer to make the switch from higher-sulfur coals to the low-sulfur, sub-bituminous Powder River Basin coal for its reduced sulfur dioxide and NOx emissions. I believe for this reason combined with the many economic benefits – while they last, since demand continues to grow – that we will be visiting with this issue for many years to come.

While some of the hazards such as Oxidative Weathering are managed though specific practices (i.e. Compaction), others such as keeping the bulk density within safe limits – as you’ve brought up – can effectively be managed by good, old-fashioned housekeeping practices; but sadly & all too often are not.

Thank you for your interest and comments.

Respectfully,

John