/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>19159143
Wastewater engineer here (chemical and process). An accumulation of putrescible waste (cow shit) will lead to the generation of a hazardous gas atmosphere (explosive) if stored for a long enough time that methanogens can convert it into methane gas. This could have realistically occurred in the milking barn/shed, although the auto ignition temperature of methane is 540 deg C, so good luck getting electrical equipment up to that point. It's far more likely that electrical equipment not rated for hazardous areas to NFPA 820 or IEC 60079.10.1:2022 were not used in the shed and spark provided the activation energy for the explosion rather than "hot" electrical equipment.

Here are some links to human waste explosions as an example:

- https://esemag.com/wastewater/uk-wastewater-plant-blast-killed-four/

- https://www.icheme.org/media/10163/xvi-paper-18.pdf

- https://conferences.aquaenviro.co.uk/proceedings/sewage-sludge-drying-a-review-of-fire-and-explosion-hazards-over-the-last-decade/

Although these articles relate to human waste, the risk is similar.