What caused the explosion in which six people died and two are still missing?
This article tells of the tragic explosion at the Imperial Sugar Company at Port Wentworth near Savannah in Georgia. It was such a serious explosion that five days later hotspots were still burning and investigators were still unable to gain access to the structure.
The probable cause is the sugar dust that would have been present in the factory. How could sugar dust cause an explosion? It is due to the size of particles and hence the surface area available to be burned.
Organic matter such as sugar and flour is combustible to a certain extent. When exposed to oxygen and a source of heat it will burn. Kinetic theory states that the rate of reaction will increase as particle size decreases because there is more surface area available to react.
This means that when sugar dust or flour is dispersed in the air and a source of ignition is applied, the dust will burn very rapidly, causing an explosion.
The arguments in the USA over regulations applied to factories which have quantities of combustible dust need to take into account this simple chemistry!
