Effective use of differential scanning calorimetry in reactive chemicals hazard evaluation

Abstract

DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) is one of the most commonly applied thermal stability testing methodologies in reactive chemicals hazard evaluation. This is certainly because of many factors, including the relative low cost of the equipment, rapid turnaround time of experiments, small sample size, ease of interpretation, relative accuracy of the calorimetric results, and the wide range of temperatures over which a DSC can operate. Traditionally DSC is mainly used as a screening method used to identify possible energy release hazards, which may require further, more sophisticated testing to elucidate and quantify the actual hazard. Practitioners have learned to maximize the information obtainable from DSC testing. This article highlights how DSC is applied to routine day‐to‐day hazard screening and summarizes the collective knowledge of Dow in this area for over 20 years. Some applications discussed include: recognizing thermal events from peak shape, high energy materials, chemical compatibility, and eliminating unnecessary testing. Also presented are examples of the limitations of DSC and examples where it should not be used. Finally, this article discusses how DSC may be used to estimate reaction kinetics by quantitative thermokinetic modeling. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2007

On the prediction of thermal stability of nitroaromatic compounds using quantum chemical calculations

“…Therefore, all experimental values used in the fitting procedure have to be obtained in the same conditions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is often used to characterize the thermal stability of explosive compounds [29]. The experimental property studied in this work is the decomposition enthalpy taken from literature [30].…”

Scenario identification and evaluation for layers of protection analysis

“…Evaluation of reactivity hazards may require data obtained through testing of process chemicals by calorimetric experiments (Frurip & Elwell, 2006;Townsend & Tou, 1980). Process conditions include temperature, pressure, feed rate, feed pressure, fill level, batch versus continuous operation, batch-processing steps, presence of an inert atmosphere and potential for plugging or corrosion.…”

Thermal hazard assessment of nitrobenzene/dinitrobenzene mixtures

“…DSC (differential scanning calorimetry) is one of the most widely used calorimetric techniques for evaluating the thermal hazards of reactive chemicals [9]. DSC experiments were performed on a TA Instruments Q2000 DSC equipped with a standard cell.…”