Energy estimation and modeling solid thermal explosion containment on reactor for three organic peroxides by calorimetric technique

In this paper, we describe thermokinetic properties and decomposition characteristics of benzoyl peroxide, dicumyl peroxide, and lauroyl peroxide, which are widely used in the polymerization process as energy boosters. In the past, many accidents occurred that involved overpressure and runaway excursion of the process and thermal explosion. One reason for accidents is because of the peroxy group (-O-O-) of organic peroxides (OPs) due to its thermal instability and high sensitivity when exposing to heat. Apparent activation energy and pre-exponential factor were obtained during decomposition via non-isothermal well-recognized kinetic equation, fitting curve tests, and approximate solution to design safer reaction conditions when OPs are used as fuel. Moreover, the storage conditions were investigated for the simulation of thermal explosion in a 24-kg cubic box package and a 400-kg barrel reactor for commercial application. Experimental results established the novel features of solid explosion hazard of OPs.