A complete understanding of the hazards associated with any chemical or production process is essential in maintaining safe operating procedures and for the development and scale-up of new and novel syntheses. Major incidents frequently arise from invalidated risk assessments based on incorrect assumptions or insufficiently representative experimental data, particularly when laboratory findings do not translate reliably to production scale.
This presentation will outline the range of available chemical reaction hazard (CRH) testing methods, demonstrating how integration of their outputs provides a comprehensive basis for evaluating potentially hazardous materials and processes. Chemical processes must be designed to withstand credible worst-case scenarios, not only normal operating conditions. Appropriate use of CRH testing provides a robust, evidence-based foundation for safe design.
Initial thermal stability screening of raw material or reaction mixtures yields pressure and enthalpic data that can identify decomposition or reaction onset temperature, highlighting credible upset conditions. Low phi-factor adiabatic methods and reaction calorimetry can then be employed to simulate these scenarios, generating scale-relevant data that directly informs safe operating limits. Coordinating these complementary methods, practitioners can validate and optimise processes, support safer plant design, and strengthen risk assessments across both early-stage R&D and established operations.
Luke Bucktrout, CPE Laboratory Technician, Sigma-HSE