(64a) Inherently Safety Quenching of HCN Polymerization with Phosphoric Acid
AIChE Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety
2016
2016 AIChE Spring Meeting and 12th Global Congress on Process Safety
Global Congress on Process Safety
Chemical Reactivity
Tuesday, April 12, 2016 - 4:30pm to 5:00pm
Phosphoric acid is presented as an inherently safer additive for emergency quenching of HCN polymerization. One of the industry’s objections to using phosphoric acid is that it is believed that it does not mix with HCN as well as sulfuric acid. This work is intended to determine if phosphoric acid can be practically mixed with HCN to quench a polymerization event.
Two methods of mixing are investigated. The first is addition of a small quantity of acid into a tank. The velocity of the HCN in the tank in this case is very small (on the order of centimeters per second). The second method is to inject a small flow of acid into the circulating line on the tank. In this case, the velocities are much higher (on the order of meters per second).
The first part of the work involves modeling to compare mixing of phosphoric and sulfuric acid. This will provide a fundamental comparison between the two acids, and also between the two mixing methods. The second part will involve experimental comparisons of mixing of the two acids with acetonitrile. The use of acetonitrile as a less-toxic substitute for HCN will greatly simplify experimentation while providing a liquid with similar density, viscosity, and chemical properties as HCN. Both mixing methods will be tested experimentally as well.
Mixing equipment used in this work should be relatively easy to scale up to industrial facilities. Mixing data provided by this study could be used for the design of new HCN storage tanks or new quenching systems on existing HCN storage tanks.
Checkout
This paper has an Extended Abstract file available; you must purchase the conference proceedings to access it.
Do you already own this?
Log In for instructions on accessing this content.
Pricing
Individuals
AIChE Pro Members | $150.00 |
AIChE Graduate Student Members | Free |
AIChE Undergraduate Student Members | Free |
AIChE Explorer Members | $225.00 |
Non-Members | $225.00 |