Combustible Dust Testing

Laboratory testing to quantify dust explosion and reactivity hazards

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Gas and Vapor

Laboratory testing to quantify explosion hazards for vapor and gas mixtures

UN-DOT
Classification of hazardous materials subject to shipping and storage regulations
Hydrogen
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Thermal Stability

Safe storage or processing requires an understanding of the possible hazards associated with sensitivity to variations in temperature

Adiabatic Calorimetry
Data demonstrate the consequences of process upsets, such as failed equipment or improper procedures, and guide mitigation strategies including Emergency Relief System (ERS) design
Reaction Calorimetry
Data yield heat and gas removal requirements to control the desired process chemistry
Battery Safety

Testing to support safe design of batteries and electrical power backup facilities particularly to satisfy UL9540a ed.4

Safety Data Sheets

Develop critical safety data for inclusion in SDS documents

Cable Testing
Evaluate electrical cables to demonstrate reliability and identify defects or degradation
Equipment Qualification (EQ)
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Water Hammer
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent unwanted hydraulic pressure transients in process piping
Acoustic Vibration
Identify and eliminate potential sources of unwanted vibration in piping and structural systems
Gas & Air Intrusion
Analysis and testing to identify and prevent intrusion of gas or air in piping systems
ISO/IEC 17025:2017

Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2017 in the field of Testing

ISO 9001:2015
Fauske & Associates fulfills the requirements of ISO 9001:2015
Dust Hazards Analysis
Evaluate your process to identify combustible dust hazards and perform dust explosion testing
On-Site Risk Management
On-site safety studies can help identify explosibility and chemical reaction hazards so that appropriate testing, simulations, or calculations are identified to support safe scale up
DIERS Methodology
Design emergency pressure relief systems to mitigate the consequences of unwanted chemical reactivity and account for two-phase flow using the right tools and methods
Deflagrations (Dust/Vapor/Gas)

Properly size pressure relief vents to protect your processes from dust, vapor, and gas explosions

Effluent Handling

Pressure relief sizing is just the first step and it is critical to safely handle the effluent discharge from an overpressure event

FATE™ & Facility Modeling

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.

Mechanical, Piping, and Electrical
Engineering and testing to support safe plant operations and develop solutions to problems in heat transfer, fluid, flow, and electric power systems
Hydrogen Safety
Testing and consulting on the explosion risks associated with devices and processes which use or produce hydrogen
Thermal Hydraulics
Testing and analysis to ensure that critical equipment will operate under adverse environmental conditions
Nuclear Safety
Our Nuclear Services Group is recognized for comprehensive evaluations to help commercial nuclear power plants operate efficiently and stay compliant
Radioactive Waste
Safety analysis to underpin decomissioning process at facilities which have produced or used radioactive nuclear materials
Adiabatic Safety Calorimeters (ARSST and VSP2)

Low thermal inertial adiabatic calorimeters specially designed to provide directly scalable data that are critical to safe process design

Other Lab Equipment and Parts for the DSC/ARC/ARSST/VSP2 Calorimeters

Products and equipment for the process safety or process development laboratory

FERST

Software for emergency relief system design to ensure safe processing of reactive chemicals, including consideration of two-phase flow and runaway chemical reactions

FATE

Facility modeling software mechanistically tracks transport of heat, gasses, vapors, and aerosols for safety analysis of multi-room facilities

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Published August 1, 2017

How to Collect a (Potentially) Combustible Dust Sample

Wondering if your facility may have combustible dust? In some cases, less than 1/4 inch layer of dust can explode or ignite. Here's a demonstration of how to collect and ship a sample to a lab for testing. Every plant, in industries including food, pharmaceutical, wood, agricultural, cosmetic, petrochem, plastics, manufacturing and more can be at risk. Testing is inexpensive and can help to determine which collection units are best suited to your plant. 

Video Transcript

Hi, I'm Mark and this is Deb. We're with Fauske & Associates. We're here to help you out today just in case you're doing a new dust collector, similar type of equipment that you needed to know how explosible is my dust or powders in my operation. Well, we're going to go do that today. Let's do it Deb. Hold on a second, Mark. Before we get started, let's make sure we're wearing proper safety equipment; hard hat, safety glasses, and depending on the nature of the material that you're handling, you may wish to implement other safety measures such as gloves or a dust mask. Let's do it.

When collecting your sample, you want a fairly large container and a natural bristle brush. It helps to reduce the potential for static discharge. Depending on your material, even the smallest spark could be hazardous. I need at least one to two pounds of material.

The best representation of the material in your process can be found inside your dust collector's filter. You can get additional material from the bin beneath the dust collector. If you don't have a dust collector, there are other areas where you can collect your material. From the light fixture, from the rafters, I-beams, and duct work. How did she get around so fast?

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Finer particles tend to accumulate on elevated surfaces, so you want to collect that material the same way that you did out of the dust collector. Now we're ready to ship the material for testing. Be sure to double check the weight to ensure you have at least one to two pounds of material. The sample name you provide will be the name on the report. Provide any special instructions that you may have, like if you want to test per OSHA standards, or if you want to return any unused sample once testing is complete. Include the safety data sheet, sample tests options for them, payment information, along with your material.

We've packaged your material to ensure limited movement during transit. Follow us along our journey with the dust. Fauske & Associates, world leader in nuclear and chemical process safety.

We receive questions daily regarding potential dust explosion and combustible dust hazards and what to do -  so we thought a video blog-worthy!  Give us your feedback on what else you'd like to see regarding plant safety. Or, contact us with any questions at dust@fauske.com or 630-323-8750

FAI

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