Explosion examples

Mixtures of the sulfoxide with metal salts of oxoacids are powerful explosives. Examples are aluminium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate and iron(III) nitrate [1], The water in hydrated oxosalts (aluminium perchlorate, iron(III) perchlorate, iron(III) nitrate) may be partially or totally replaced by dimethyl (or other) sulfoxide to give solvated salts useful as explosives [2], Metal nitrates and perchlorates solvated with DMSO are generally powerfully explosive, and under certain conditions a violent reaction is easily triggered [3], Several other explosions involving perchlorates and the sulfoxide have been reported. 

Analyze the first ethylene explosion example (3/8-in fitting failure) to determine the percentage of fuel that actually exploded compared to the quantity of ethylene released in a vapor cloud. 

It was alluded to earlier that decomposition reaction rate and mechanism were affected by the presence of other substances. The chemical reactions between explosives and other substances are called chemical incompatibilities. These are very important in explosive systems that must be stored for long periods of time. Compatibility studies are directed not only to address the problem of degradation of explosives by other materials in a system, but also to address the degradation of other parts of a system caused by the explosive. Examples of the latter are (1) a case where a substance in the explosive compound caused severe corrosion of the metal bridge wire in a hot wire initiator, and (2) where NO2 vapors given off by the slow decomposition of an explosive in one part of a weapon system caused severe corrosion and subsequent failure of a printed circuit in another area of the weapon. 

There are many references and design codes dealing with combustion safeguards. Factory Mutual s Loss Prevention Data Book Service publishes data sheets that describe safeguards against fires and the prevention of fuel explosions. Examples are number 6-9, Industrial Ovens and Dryers, and numbers 6-17/13-20, Rotary Kilns and Dryers. The NFPA also has a series of... 

The first major hazard in process plants is fire, which is usually regarded as having a disaster potential lower than both explosion or toxic release. However, fire is still a major hazard and can, under the worst conditions, approach explosion in its disaster potential. It may, for example, give rise to toxic fumes. Let us start by examining the important factors in assessing fire as a hazard. 

Example 9.1 A process involves the use of benzene as a liquid under pressure. The temperature can be varied over a range. Compare the fire and explosion hazards of operating with a liquid process inventory of 1000 kmol at 100 and 150°C based on the theoretical combustion energy resulting from catastrophic failure of the equipment. The normal boiling point of benzene is 80°C, the latent heat of vaporization is 31,000 kJ kmol the specific heat capacity is 150 kJkmoh °C , and the heat of combustion is 3.2 x 10 kJkmok. ... 

If the acid of the ammonium salt is an oxidising agent, then on heating the salt, mutual oxidation and reduction occurs. The oxidation products can be nitrogen or one of its oxides and the reactions can be explosive, for example ... 

It decomposes exothermically to oxygen, a reaction which can be explosive. Even dilute ozone decomposes slowly at room temperature the decomposition is catalysed by various substances (for example manganese(IV) oxide and soda-lime) and occurs more rapidly on heating. 

This is a disproportionation reaction, and is strongly catalysed by light and by a wide variety of materials, including many metals (for example copper and iron) especially if these materials have a large surface area. Some of these can induce explosive decomposition. Pure hydrogen peroxide can be kept in glass vessels in the dark, or in stone jars or in vessels made of pure aluminium with a smooth surface. 

It is a liquid, b,p. 363 K, but if heated it decomposes and hence must be distilled under reduced pressure decomposition may occur with explosive violence and this can occur even at room temperature if impurities are present. Combustible material, for example paper and wood, ignite spontaneously with explosive violence on contact with the acid, and it can produce painful blisters on the skin,... 

This preparation is an example of the use of di-M-butyl ether as a solvent in the Grignard reaction. The advantages are it is comparatively inexpensive, it can be handled without excessive loss due to evaporation, simple distillation gives an ether free from moisture and alcohol, and the vapour does not form explosive mixtures with air. n-Butyl ether cannot, of course, be employed when the boiling point of the neutral reaction product is close to 140°. 

The intermediate in this double 1,6-elimination may be the pentaene C1-CH=C=C=C=C=CH2, routes via other highly unsaturated compounds cannot be ruled out. Since the elimination is a very clean reaction, prior isolation of the explosive triyne is not always necessary 2-ethynylselenophen, for example, can... 

It is possible to prepare very heavy elements in thermonuclear explosions, owing to the very intense, although brief (order of a microsecond), neutron flux furnished by the explosion (3,13). Einsteinium and fermium were first produced in this way they were discovered in the fallout materials from the first thermonuclear explosion (the "Mike" shot) staged in the Pacific in November 1952. It is possible that elements having atomic numbers greater than 100 would have been found had the debris been examined very soon after the explosion. The preparative process involved is multiple neutron capture in the uranium in the device, which is followed by a sequence of beta decays. Eor example, the synthesis of EM in the Mike explosion was via the production of from followed by a long chain of short-Hved beta decays,... 

Other. Because a foam consists of many small, trapped gas bubbles, it can be very effective as a thermal insulator. Usually soHd foams are used for insulation purposes, but there are some instances where Hquid foams also find uses for insulation (see Eoamed plastics Insulation, thermal). Eor example, it is possible to apply and remove the insulation simply by forming or coUapsing the foam, providing additional control of the insulation process. Another novel use that is being explored is the potential of absorbing much of the pressure produced by an explosion. The energy in the shock wave is first partially absorbed by breaking the bubbles into very small droplets, and then further absorbed as the droplets are evaporated (53). 

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