Client Background
The client is a life science and consumer care company, in the process of designing a new chemical reactor for processing four different oils under nitrogen.
Client Problem
Some limited thermal stability knowledge existed on these materials, and further information was necessary to develop a safe process protected with adequately sized emergency relief systems (ERS). Evaluation of the chemical process and clear communication with the client helped to develop a bespoke testing regime to ascertain the worst-case decomposition scenario, complimented by elemental analysis of the decomposition products to improve understanding on the decomposition mechanism under nitrogen.
Client Objectives
To determine the pressure and temperature rise rates, and adiabatic temperature rise of four different oil samples. We subsequently identifed a worst-case scenario to be used in further vent sizing calculations for the development of an ERS.
Testing Overview – What is the Advanced Reactive System Screening Tool (ARSST)?
The ARSST is a pseudo adiabatic calorimeter with a low-phi factor providing accurate pressure and temperature data that can be used to evaluate thermal stability, kinetic behaviour, and perform vent sizing analysis.
Strategy
For the test to be representative of the client’s process, the ARSST test cell was assembled under an inert nitrogen atmosphere and sealed within the containment cell to prevent any unwanted reaction of the samples with oxygen, and replicate the clients process.
The ARSST was further pressurised to 200 psi with nitrogen then heated under polynomial control at 2 °C/min to 350 °C. Gases produced from the decomposition were also sampled for compositional analysis.
