(164f) Scale-up of LLM-105 Involving Online Analytics

The development of continous processes for the production of energetic materials has been proven several times within the Chemical Development Branch at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division (NSWC IHD).  The advantages of producing these materials continuously lies in the fact that processing and product costs can be lowered, potential hazards can be reduced, and batch to batch variability can be minimized.  Safety is at the forefront of the production of energetic compounds, and the ability to minimize the amount of hazardous reaction solution that is being processed at any given time in a reaction is one method of increasing safety.  The avoidance of multiple equipment setups between batches and the increased efficiecy that can be achieved with a properly designed continuous process will reduce product costs.  Performing a process continuously at a smaller scale as compared to a batch process also increases the ease of controlling reaction temperature due to the smaller volumes in the continous process and also can help in avoiding some of the mixing challenges that can be experienced at larger scales.  NSWC IHD has developed continuous processes for several energetic compounds, and details on the modeling, simulations, and reaction information gathered in the laboratory to develop these processes will be presented.