Can Flour Explode?

Decorating By playingwithsugar Updated 10 Sep 2007 , 3:50pm by Kayakado

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playingwithsugar Posted 9 Sep 2007 , 7:30pm
post #1 of 3

I found this article today; thought it worth sharing. The source link is listed below.

"Can flour explode?"


"White flour is made up mostly of starch. If you have read the article How Food Works, you know that starch is a carbohydrate, meaning that it is made of sugar molecules chained together. Anyone who has ever lit a marshmallow on fire knows that sugar burns easily. So does flour."

"Flour and many other carbohydrates become explosive when they are hanging in the air as dust. It only takes 1 or 2 grams of dust per cubic foot of air (50 or so grams per cubic meter) for the mixture to be ignitable. Flour grains are so tiny that they burn instantly. When one grain burns, it lights other grains near it, and the flame front can flash through a dust cloud with explosive force. Just about any carbohydrate dust, including sugar, pudding mix, fine sawdust, etc., will explode once ignited."

"When you hear about an explosion in a grain elevator on the news, this is what has occurred. A spark or a source of heat ignited the dust in the air and it exploded."

Here is the link to the actual article --

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question150.htm

Theresa icon_smile.gif

2 replies
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alanahodgson Posted 9 Sep 2007 , 7:52pm
post #2 of 3

Then I guess you'd better be careful when you're "playingwithsugar" icon_wink.gif . Thanks for the info!

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Kayakado Posted 10 Sep 2007 , 3:50pm
post #3 of 3

That was one of the first things we learned in kitchen safety, regarding kitchen fires. Baking powder for smothering fires in the kitchen, but although flour looked like baking powder, flour was a no-no on smothering a fire since it would explode. I wowed the guys I go camping with last year by putting left over pancake mix in the fire. Yes, I camp with some juvenile pyros.

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