The first three elements are those needed for a fire, i.e., the familiar “fire triangle”:

1. Combustible dust (fuel);
2. Ignition source (heat); and,
3. Oxygen in air (oxidizer).An additional two elements must be present for a combustible dust explosion:
4. Dispersion of dust particles in sufficient quantity and concentration; and,
5. Confinement of the dust cloud.

If one of the above five elements is missing, an explosion cannot occur.