Applications of thermal hazard analyses on process safety assessments

Abstract In 2011, a large petrochemical complex in Taiwan incurred several fire and explosion accidents, which had considerable negative impact for the industry on both environmental and safety issues. Reactive substances are widely used in many chemical industrial fields as an initiator, hardeners, or cross-linking agents of radical polymerization process with unsaturated monomer. However, the unpredictable factors during the process having risk to runaway reaction, thermal explosion, fire, and exposure to harmful toxic chemicals release due to the huge heat and gas products by thermal decomposition could not be removed from the process. This study used differential technology of thermal analysis to characterize the inherent hazard behaviors of azo compounds and organic peroxides in the process, to seek the elimination of the source of the harmful effects and achieve the best process safety practices with zero disaster and sound business continuity plan.

[1]  Y. Duh,et al.  Hazard ratings for organic peroxides , 2008 .

[2]  H. G. Fisher,et al.  Determination of self-accelerating decomposition temperatures using the accelerating rate calorimeter , 1991 .

[3]  C. Scali,et al.  Optimization of batch polymerization reactors : modelling and experimental results for suspension polymerization of methylmethacrylate , 1992 .

[4]  G. Maschio,et al.  Polymerization Reactor: The Influence of "Gel Effect" in Batch and Continuous Solution Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate , 1989 .

[5]  Ching-Chyuan Yang,et al.  The criteria of critical runaway and stable temperatures of catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in the presence of hydrochloric acid. , 2006, Journal of hazardous materials.

[6]  David S. Soong,et al.  A computer model for the gel effect in free-radical polymerization , 1983 .

[7]  C. Su,et al.  Thermal risk analysis of cumene hydroperoxide in the presence of alkaline catalysts , 2012 .

[8]  Yih-Shing Duh,et al.  Evaluation of adiabatic runaway reaction and vent sizing for emergency relief from DSC , 2006 .

[9]  Chi-Min Shu,et al.  Exothermic decomposition of cumene hydroperoxide at low temperature conditions , 2001 .

[10]  C. Shu,et al.  Thermal Hazard Analysis of Methyl Ethyl Ketone Peroxide , 2003 .

[11]  V. Casson,et al.  Screening Analysis for Hazard Assessment of Peroxides Decomposition , 2012 .

[12]  C. Shu,et al.  Thermokinetic parameters and thermal hazard evaluation for three organic peroxides by DSC and TAM III , 2011 .

[13]  V. Casson,et al.  Hydrogen Peroxide Decomposition Analysis by Screening Calorimetry Technique , 2012 .

[14]  Giuseppe Maschio,et al.  An integrated calorimetric approach for the scale-up of polymerization reactors , 1999 .

[15]  K. Wehrstedt,et al.  Prediction of the self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) for liquid organic peroxides from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. , 2005, Journal of hazardous materials.

[16]  H. Koseki,et al.  Thermal decomposition kinetic of liquid organic peroxides , 2005 .

[17]  D. I. Townsend,et al.  Thermal hazard evaluation by an accelerating rate calorimeter , 1980 .

[18]  T. Kotoyori.  The self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) of solids of the quasi-autocatalytic decomposition type , 1999 .

[19]  Jin-hua Sun,et al.  A study of self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT) using reaction calorimetry , 2001 .

[20]  Jing-Ming Hsu,et al.  Calorimetric studies and lessons on fires and explosions of a chemical plant producing CHP and DCPO. , 2012, Journal of hazardous materials.

[21]  M. W. Whitmore,et al.  Use of the accelerating rate calorimeter and the thermal activity monitor to estimate stability temperatures , 1993 .

[22]  H. Koseki,et al.  Thermal risk evaluation of organic peroxide by automatic pressure tracking adiabatic calorimeter , 2006 .

[23]  D. G. Lister,et al.  Use of Screening Analysis Calorimetry in the Study of Peroxides Decomposition , 2010 .

[24]  S. K. Soh,et al.  Diffusion‐controlled vinyl polymerization. I. The gel effect , 1982 .

[25]  T. C. Hofelich,et al.  On the use and misuse of detected onset temperature of calorimetric experiments for reactive chemicals , 2002 .

[26]  C. Shu,et al.  Runaway reaction and thermal hazards simulation of cumene hydroperoxide by DSC , 2008 .

[27]  P. R. Lee.  Safe storage and transportation of some potentially hazardous materials , 2007 .