We developed a method to predict and quantify the risk connected to using silos for the storage of particulate materials (dried sludges, agri-food products, organic and inorganic powders, pellets…).
The aim of this study is to suggest good operating practices to minimize the materials’ self-heating inside silos, and, should an exothermic process occur, to indicate what corrective actions can minimize the effect of the ongoing reactions.
We use two approaches to this issue. An experimental study gathers process information, with a constant acquisition of signals regarding environmental conditions, temperature in several internal points, concentration of various gases, and loading level of the silo. Parallel to this, we use a modeling approach to characterize physical and chemical phenomena, obtaining a simulation which is able to predict the behavior and evolution of the exothermic reactivity of the stored material.
