HowStuffWorks Show: Episode 1: Corn Starch

Summary

The River Valley Co-op in Dwit, Iowa, is home to one of the largest piles of corn in the world, capable of storing nearly a million bushels. These massive bins can feed millions, but even the scale of the storage doesn't prevent danger. Grain dust, which is highly explosive when suspended in the air, poses a significant risk. A mix of corn starch and oil can ignite from a spark, creating devastating fires. The video highlights the risks of handling corn on such a grand scale, with dangerous explosions and fires being a real threat in these storage facilities.

Takeaways

• 😀 The River Valley Co-op in Dwit, Iowa is home to one of the world's largest piles of corn.
• 🌽 The corn storage facility holds enough grain to provide 25 million people with enough calories for a day.
• 🏢 The storage facility includes steel bins that can hold up to 5 square miles of corn.
• 📦 Despite the large storage capacity, the bins quickly fill due to the massive amount of corn grown each year.
• 🚚 Corn is marketed and transported throughout the year, including to ethanol plants and river terminals.
• 🌍 Corn is shipped globally, either by truck or river barge, to various locations in the U.S. and around the world.
• 💥 Grain dust is highly explosive, creating significant risks in corn storage facilities.
• 🌾 When new loads of corn are added to bins, it can stir up dust, which is a mix of corn starch and corn oil.
• 🔥 The mixture of starch and oil is highly flammable, with the potential to cause a major explosion if combined with a spark.
• ⚠️ Grain dust explosions can be even more powerful than dynamite, posing a serious safety risk in the facility.

Q & A

What is the size of the corn pile at the River Valley Co-op in Iowa?

The corn pile at the River Valley Co-op in Iowa is one of the largest in the world, and when fully loaded, it contains just under a million bushels of corn.

How much corn can the storage facility at River Valley Co-op hold?

The storage facility can hold enough corn to provide more than 25 million people with enough calories to live for a day.

How much corn can one steel bin hold?

One of the steel bins at the facility can hold an incredible 5 square miles of corn.

What happens to the corn once it is stored in the bins?

The corn is marketed throughout the year, with it being loaded into trucks and transported either to an ethanol plant or to a river terminal to be shipped on barges to different parts of the country or around the world.

Why is corn storage potentially dangerous?

Corn storage is dangerous because the grain dust produced during the loading process is highly explosive. If the dust, which contains corn starch and corn oil, is suspended in the air and comes into contact with a spark, it can cause a violent explosion.

What makes grain dust so dangerous?

Grain dust is highly combustible due to its high carbon content, especially the corn starch, which is extremely flammable. The corn oil can accelerate the blaze further, making it more explosive than dynamite when ignited.

What triggers the potential explosion in grain storage bins?

The explosion risk occurs when new loads of corn pour into the bins, which kicks up dust, creating a mix of corn starch and corn oil that is suspended in the air and can explode if it encounters a spark.

What is the role of firefighters in grain dust explosions?

Firefighters are called to the scene to contain the fire and douse the flames. In the video, firefighters from at least five area departments were involved in trying to manage a fire caused by grain dust.

How flammable is grain dust compared to other substances?

Grain dust is more explosive than dynamite if the right concentration of dust is suspended in the air and ignited by a spark.

What are the components of grain dust that contribute to its explosiveness?

Grain dust consists primarily of corn starch, which is highly flammable, and corn oil, which can accelerate the combustion, making the dust highly explosive under the right conditions.