Dust explosion risks in battery recycling

Other conference contribution, 2025

Combustible dust hazards remain a persistent threat across various industries, as dust is an inevitable byproduct of many processes. Managing combustible dust hazards at the battery recycling plants is one of the key factors to minimize the incidents and down time and, therefore, to improve the work environment, and to increase the profitability of the business. The present work aims at exploring the dust explosion risks of black mass in battery recycling. Four black mass samples are investigated. Microscope images, particle size distribution, water content and organic carbonates are analyzed. Dust explosion experiments are performed in a 20-L vessel. Results show that a 10 kJ ignition energy cannot generate high explosion overpressure, whereas an ignition energy of 20 kJ yields an explosion overpressure above 6 bar. The experimental results are compared with published data on various explosion-related characteristics of other dusts in battery recycling, in particular, aluminum and graphite dusts.