As industries push toward sustainability, biobased raw materials, such as wood fibres, agricultural residues, hemp, flax, and biopolymers, are becoming foundational in many manufacturing applications such as composites and construction products. Their environmental benefits are clear: lower embodied carbon, renewable sourcing and compatibility with circular economy pathways. These benefits and the scale of the commercial opportunities that these can offer are highlighted by the projected growth rates for the sector: valued globally at $20.5 billion (2024) and projected to reach $45.6 billion by 2033, exhibiting CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 9.8%. Yet for all their ecological value, these organic materials come with an important and often underappreciated downside: combustible dust hazards.
Posted
11.02.2026
While new entrants to the sector may view bio-based inputs as inherently “natural” and therefore benign, science and history show otherwise. Fine particulates from biomaterials can ignite violently or smoulder undetected. Indeed, when finely divided and dispersed in air, many cellulosic materials (e.g. wood dusts, grain dusts, cellulose itself) are highly explosive with KSt values in the range 200-300 bar.m/s (St 2 classification). This can generate an over pressure, when confined, which is equivalent to a hand grenade, enough to rupture steel and cause masonry to collapse. Understanding these risks, and designing processes to mitigate them, is essential as markets continue to scale.