Application
Explosion Protection for Power and Biomass Plants
Answer in brief
In a fuel preparation system the explosion protection is the system, not an addition to it.
Milled coal and biomass are fine, combustible and capable of heating themselves in storage, so detection comes before protection.
- Monitor temperature and carbon monoxide in storage.
- Protect mills, classifiers and filters as a connected system.
- Inerting is often the practical answer where it is available.
Reviewed October 21, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026
The problem
Coal and biomass fuel systems contain explosible clouds in normal operation, and stored fuel oxidises slowly and releases carbon monoxide long before it shows a temperature rise.
Desired outcome
A protection concept that covers every enclosure where an explosible cloud can exist, limits the pressure to what the vessel can take and prevents an event from travelling into the next vessel.
Process approach
Inerting with flue gas or nitrogen is widely used in coal milling, with oxygen monitoring to prove the atmosphere.
Where inerting is not practical, venting or suppression is applied to each enclosure, with isolation between them.
Carbon monoxide monitoring in silos gives the earliest warning of a developing problem, usually well before temperature sensors react.
- Gas and temperature monitoring in storage, with a defined response.
- First in, first out storage so fuel does not sit.
- Isolation between mill, classifier, filter and silo.
Selection factors
- Fuel type and its self-heating tendency, including seasonal variation in biomass.
- Explosion characteristics of the milled product.
- Inert gas availability and the monitoring that proves the atmosphere.
- Silo geometry and whether stagnant zones exist.
- Entry procedure for storage, where carbon monoxide has caused fatalities.
Common failure modes
- Carbon monoxide build-up unmonitored in a pellet or fuel silo
- Stagnant fuel in a silo corner heating undetected
- Inerting without oxygen measurement
- Mill protected but the connected filter not isolated
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