Flourenheit: Does the type of flour have an effect on its flammability?

Presenter(s)

Addison Mondragon

Abstract or Description

Over the past 35 years there have been more than 500 accidents, 675 injuries, and 180 deaths all caused by one thing. Flour dust is more explosive than gunpowder and 35 times more combustible than coal dust. Now comes the real question, what flour is the most combustible? I aerosolized eight different types over an open flame and recorded their reactions for later analysis. Unfortunately, not all showed the desired results. Corn flour hadn't even smothered the flame. However, one of the most commonly found flours in households, all purpose flour, gave some rather incredible results. In the end I got incredible results from the majority of my tests. I hope to use this information to make my peers aware that just because something doesn't seem dangerous, it still may be. If I continue in this direction I may add other kitchen staples to my testing. For now, I will show others that flour can be rather dramatic in the sense of fire.