Electric spark ignition eneries of coating polymer powders

In this paper, we report on experimental results dealing with the minimum ignition energy (MIE) of coating polymer powders. An important result was found that some of the samples examined were so sensitive that even a spark with a very low energy, such as 2 mJ, could ignite them. The values of the discharge spark energy of ignition testing set by the BSI (British Standards Institution) standards and the FM (Factory Mutual) regulations related to the safe operation of electrostatic powder coating systems are sufficiently high to result in the ignition of some of the coating powders. Therefore, it is imperative that more appropriate discharge spark energy values in testing be defined for safety assessment in electrostatic powder coating systems.