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Clean Hydrogen Partnership

Explosion in an metallic products plant

Event

Event ID
746
Quality
Description
Five barrels of aluminium dust that had been removed from an outdoor dust collector were sealed and stored in the plant adjacent to electrical panels.
One of them had somehow been contaminated with water, which exothermically reacted with the aluminium dust to form hydrogen gas. The top of the barrel deformed and glowed red. Smoke was observed and an employee sounded a vocal alarm.
The lid blew off the barrel and the mushroom cloud of aluminium dust exploded in a fireball. Nearby combustible material ignited and the sprinkler system activated. The closest employee, sustained second-degree burns of the arm and neck and went to the emergency room for treatment. Due to the warning, there were no other serious injuries.
Event Initiating system
Classification of the physical effects
Hydrogen Release and Ignition
Nature of the consequences
Macro-region
North America
Country
United States
Date
Root causes
Root CAUSE analysis
The barrel of aluminium dust outdoor dust collector was contaminated with water and produced hydrogen.

Facility

Application
Steel And Metals Industry
Sub-application
Aluminium processing
Hydrogen supply chain stage
All components affected
aluminium powder, dust collector, barrels
Location type
Unknown
Location description
Industrial Area
Operational condition

Emergency & Consequences

Number of injured persons
1
Number of fatalities
0
Post-event summary
Smoke from the barrel was observed and an employee sounded a vocal alarm. Despite the following explosion, only the closest employee was injured, Thanks to the warning, there were no other serious injuries.

Event Nature

Release type
gas
Involved substances (% vol)
H2,
H2O,
Al
Presumed ignition source
Run-away reaction

References

Reference & weblink

Occupational Safety and Health Administration OHSA Inspection no. 119577575 <br />
https://www.osha.gov/pls/imis/establishment.inspection_detail?id=119577… />
(accessed November 2020)

JRC assessment