Modeling thermal analysis for predicting thermal hazards relevant to transportation safety and runaway reaction for 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile)

Abstract

The pure decomposition behavior of 2,2′-azobis (isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) and its physical phase transformation were examined and discussed. The thermal decomposition of this self-reactive azo compound was explored using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to elucidate the stages in the progress of this chemical reaction. DSC was used to predict the kinetic and process safety parameters, such as self-accelerating decomposition temperature (SADT), time to maximum reaction rate under adiabatic conditions (TMRad), and apparent activation energy (Ea), under isothermal and adiabatic conditions with thermal analysis models. Moreover, vent sizing package 2 (VSP2) was applied to examine the runaway reaction combined with simulation and experiments for thermal hazard assessment of AIBN. A thorough understanding of this reaction process can identify AIBN as a hazardous and vulnerable chemical during upset situations. The sublimation and melting of AIBN near its apparent onset decomposition temperature contributed to the initial steps of the reaction and explained the exothermic attributes of the peaks observed in the calorimetric investigation.