Incidents reaction, runaway, Grignard

Most laboratory reactions are carried out on a small scale, where adequate cooling and agitation can prevent a runaway reaction. Nevertheless, runaway reactions have resulted in significant laboratory incidents. Incident 5.3.10.1 is an example of a runaway reaction that resulted in an explosion with injuries. Incident 5.3.10.2 illustrates how common reactions such as those involving Grignard reagents can result in runaway reactions with adverse results in the laboratory. 

Grignard reagents are exceptionally useful tools in synthetic organic chemistry. Victor Grignard won a Nobel Prize in 1912 for the discovery of this reaction. These reagents are not only useful on the laboratory scale but they are also used in the chemical industry at pilot and plant scales. As Incident 5.3.10.2 illustrates, this reaction can present a safety hazard that can potentially lead to a runaway reaction if not carried out under optimal conditions. 

---

See also in sourсe #XX -- [ , , , ]

---