Thermal hazard investigation and hazardous scenarios identification using thermal analysis coupled with numerical...

Polymers are salient participants in the current world, and roughly more than 40%-45% of all industrial polymers were produced by free radical polymerization. Azo-initiators now have been the foremost radical initiator with the virtue of low tendency to undergo chain transfer reactions. Nevertheless, azo-initiators are readily to decompose and release an immense amount of heats and gases under elevated ambient temperature. 2-(1-Cyano-1-methylethyl)azocarboxamide (CABN) was deliberately picked as an example for identifying the hazardous scenarios in the application of azo-initiators. Initially, thermal analysis technologies were used to investigate the thermal decomposition characteristics of CABN, and selected decomposition mechanism functions were verified for the best-fitting thermokinetic model. Subsequently, thermokinetic-based numerical simulations were implemented to evaluate the thermal hazards of CABN under the ideal adiabatic scenario. Process safety parameters under adiabatic conditions including time to maximum rate as well as induction period were consequently retrieved. Furthermore, inherent safety recommendations for free-radical polymerization were established to forestall the process accidents in storage and the applications of azo-initiator.