Why Is Sugar Important

Sugar is a commodity that humans use for many everyday activities. It is used to cakes and is commonly found in the candy bars and other sweet candies eaten all the time. However it may not be known to all that sugar is indeed an explosive as well. Sugar refinery’s around the United States have been shocked to find that others have exploded and the reason why goes back to the sugar. The refined sugar particles are the true cause of the devastating explosions that occur. It is important to know about and learn about these explosions because these types of explosions can lead to very devastating results putting many innocent workers lives in danger. However it is also a common misconception to think this only happens with sugar because it can
\ There are three major causes of sugar explosions. The three big factors that cause sugar explosions to occur are mixing with oxygen, confinement and surface area. These three factors each play their own very large role in causing the explosion. First is surface area, which is considered to be the most crucial of all three factors. The text states, “...the most important factor is the amount of surface area. A chemical reaction of a solid substance can only occur on its surface” (Tinnesand 6). This shows the importance of surface area in the reaction that takes place during the explosion. When the sugar is ground into smaller particles by the machines, dust will begin to build up on them. The sugar dust will increase in width and in height over time which increases the surface area of the dust. The higher the surface area of the sugar dust the more likely it is to explode. This is because there is more sugar built up on the surface of the machine which give the ignition source more fuel to cause the explosion, However, surface area is only one of three components of what makes the explosion occur. The other two factors that play a role in sugar explosions are confinement and oxidized material. As stated in the text, “...to
Once all the big factors are completed, the presence of a flame is all that is needed to cause the explosion. This flame can come from a fire within the machine or could be the smallest spark that came about from a nearby outlet. The text states, “At a certain concentration and in the presence of fire, sparks or even static electricity, the dust can ignite with devastating consequences” (O’Rourke). Clearly, even the smallest sign of flame around a build up of sugar dust can be dangerous and has the potential to cause an explosion. If all the components are present along with the combustible material, it is very likely the explosion will occur in the presence of a flame. Tinnesand however goes into much greater detail regarding the collisions that occur and ultimately lead up to the explosion. The text states, “Each dust particle is surrounded by oxygen molecules, so collisions occur between these dust particles and surrounding oxygen molecules. In the presence of a spark or flame, all of these collisions become combustion reactions that occur at a very rapid rate” (Tinnesand 6). The combustion reaction that occurs can be shown as, C12 H22O11(solid) + 12O2(gas)12CO2(gas) + 11 H2O(gas) + energy. That is the chemical equation that demonstrates the reaction that causes a sugar explosion. The rapid collisions that occur between the oxygen molecules and sugar particles