Obtaining more, and better, information from simple ramped temperature screening tests

Thermal screening of materials is a vital part of hazard assessment in the chemical industry. There is the need to identify the worst potential hazards and to further investigate these scenarios. Several screening methods are presented, and the subject of ramped temperature screening tests is studied in detail. Methods for the detection of exothermic reaction 'onset' temperatures are given. It is shown that, under some circumstances, the temperature data obtained during a simple controlled ramp heating experiment can be used to estimate the expected temperature rise that would occur under adiabatic conditions and the heat of reaction. The use of the data to obtain nth order kinetic parameters is also demonstrated. Data obtained using the Thermal Screening Unit (TSU) are compared to those obtained using other forms of apparatus. Heats of reaction and kinetic data have also been calculated and compare very well with data obtained using much more sophisticated adiabatic calorimeters.