Abstract
THE explosion of a mixture of dust and air, supposed by the head of the firm of Messrs. Bibby Brothers to have been the initiating cause of the catastrophe which destroyed and set on fire part of their oil-cake and seed-crushing mills in Liverpool on the night of November 24. is the most probable explanation of that occurrence. It appears that some of the seeds which contain no oil form an exceedingly fine powder when crushed. The hypothesis is that fine powder produced in this manner became disseminated in the air of the chamber, thus forming an inflammable mixture, and was ignited by some means not ascertained, possibly by a stream of sparks due to friction between the grinding rolls, possibly by an open light. Be this as it may, a violent explosion took place, shattering that portion of the mill in which crushing is carried on, and causing the deaths of thirty-one persons, and, more or less, serious injuries to 112 others.
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GALLOWAY, W. Dust Explosions . Nature 88, 147 (1911). https://doi.org/10.1038/088147a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/088147a0