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Processes
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Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes
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Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Processes and Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2021) | Viewed by 38438

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sébastien Leveneur

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
INSA Rouen, UNIROUEN, LSPC, EA4704, Normandie University, 76000 Rouen, France
Interests: biomass valorization; kinetic modeling; calorimetry; process intensification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Dimitri Lefebvre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
GREAH—EA3220 (Groupe de Recherche en Electrotechnique et Automatique du Havre), Université Le Havre Normandie, 76600 Le Havre, France
Interests: discrete event systems; formal methods; artificial intelligence; cyber–physical systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal runaway is one of the main reasons for accidents in the chemical industry, originating from technical problems such as cooling failures, errors of operators, or poor risk analysis. The well-established, thermal safety of chemical processes is essential to ensure the development of the chemical industry. From this viewpoint, assessment of a chemical process is challenging, as it requires knowledge of the kinetics and thermodynamics at different thermal modes, characteristics of the chemical reactor, and all possible operating conditions.

In this Special Issue, “Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes”, we wish to present the diversity of this research area and focus on the research efforts regarding prevention and protection against thermal runaway incidents. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Thermal analysis and calorimetry for measurements of thermal or thermal risk parameters (specific heat capacity, TMRad, ΔTad, …)—development of kinetic and thermodynamic models;
  • Modeling of thermal runaway phenomena in chemical reactions, description or simulation of accident scenarios due to thermal runaways;
  • Thermal risk analysis—development of risk matrix, new thermal risk parameters, and definition of assessment criteria;
  • Development of safety barriers and prevention in the case of thermal runaway—rupture disks, early warning detection systems, and temperature control;
  • Early detection of thermal runaway, diagnosis of the causes of thermal runaway;
  • Robust or smart control for thermal runaway, operation reconfiguration;

Contributions in the form of full-length articles, short communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sébastien Leveneur
Prof. Dr. Dimitri Lefebvre
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • calorimetry
  • thermal risk assessment
  • early warning detection system
  • thermal runaway
  • reactor stability
  • safety criteria

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 190 KiB  
Editorial
Special Issue on “Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes”
by Dimitri Lefebvre and Sébastien Leveneur
Processes 2021, 9(6), 1054; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9061054 - 17 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1401
Abstract
Chemistry plays an essential role in our modern society [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

11 pages, 1444 KiB  
Article
Novel Intensified Alternatives for Purification of Levulinic Acid Recovered from Lignocellulosic Biomass
by Massimiliano Errico, Roumiana P. Stateva and Sébastien Leveneur
Processes 2021, 9(3), 490; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9030490 - 09 Mar 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2324
Abstract
The development of a bio-based economy has its foundations in the development of efficient processes to optimize biomass potential. In this context there are a multitude of molecules that can be either synthetized or recovered from biomass, among those the so-called 12 building-blocks [...] Read more.
The development of a bio-based economy has its foundations in the development of efficient processes to optimize biomass potential. In this context there are a multitude of molecules that can be either synthetized or recovered from biomass, among those the so-called 12 building-blocks reported by the US Department of Energy. Even if their identification and importance is clearly defined, research efforts concerning the purification or separation of these platform molecules are limited. To fill this gap, different configurations for the purification of levulinic acid recovered from lignocellulosic biomass are examined and compared in this work. In particular, hybrid configurations obtained by the combination of liquid-liquid extraction and distillation have been considered. It was demonstrated how a deep understanding of the subspace including all extraction-assisted simple column distillation configurations represents a fundamental step in the synthesis of different process alternatives. From a separation efficiency and economic standpoint, the proposed intensified liquid-liquid thermally equivalent configuration (LL-TE) and liquid-liquid side stream column configuration (LL-SSC) are promising solutions. Nonetheless, their performances are deeply interrelated to the purity target defined by the designer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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26 pages, 2630 KiB  
Article
Insights into Thermal Degradation Behaviors and Reaction Kinetics of Medical Waste Infusion Bag and Nasal Oxygen Cannula
by Lifan Zhang, Jiajia Jiang, Tengkun Ma, Yong Pan, Yanjun Wang and Juncheng Jiang
Processes 2021, 9(1), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9010027 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2035
Abstract
The thermal degradation behaviors and reaction kinetics of medical waste infusion bag (IB) and nasal oxygen cannula (NOC) were investigated under inert atmosphere with the heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 25 K·min−1. Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Friedman were [...] Read more.
The thermal degradation behaviors and reaction kinetics of medical waste infusion bag (IB) and nasal oxygen cannula (NOC) were investigated under inert atmosphere with the heating rates of 5, 10, 15, and 25 K·min−1. Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW), Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), and Friedman were employed to estimate the activation energy. Coats–Redfern and Kennedy–Clark methods were adopted to predict the possible reaction mechanism. The results suggested that the reaction mechanism of IB pyrolysis was zero-order, and that of NOC pyrolysis was concluded that zero-order for the first stage and three-dimensional diffusion Jander equation for the second stage. Based on the kinetic compensation effect, the reconstructed reaction models for IB and NOC pyrolysis were elaborated by introducing adjustment functions. The results indicated that the reconstructed model fitted well with the experimental data. The results are helpful as a reference and provide guidance for the determination of IB and NOC degradation behaviors and the simulation of parameters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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16 pages, 3846 KiB  
Article
CFD Modeling of Spatial Inhomogeneities in a Vegetable Oil Carbonation Reactor
by Attila Egedy, Alex Kummer, Sébastien Leveneur, Tamás Varga and Tibor Chován
Processes 2020, 8(11), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8111356 - 27 Oct 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1489
Abstract
Fossil materials are widely used raw materials in polymerization processes; hence, in many cases, the primary goal of green and sustainable technologies is to replace them with renewables. An exciting and promising technology from this aspect is the isocyanate-free polyurethane production using vegetable [...] Read more.
Fossil materials are widely used raw materials in polymerization processes; hence, in many cases, the primary goal of green and sustainable technologies is to replace them with renewables. An exciting and promising technology from this aspect is the isocyanate-free polyurethane production using vegetable oil as a raw material. Functional compounds can be formed by the epoxidation of vegetable oils in three reaction steps: epoxidation, carbonation, and aminolysis. In the case of vegetable oil carbonation, the material properties vary strongly, with the composition affecting the solubility of CO2 in the reaction mixture. Many attempts have been made to model these interactions, but they generally do not account for the changes in the material properties in terms of spatial coordinates. A 2D CFD model based on the combination of the k-ε turbulence model and component mass balances considering the spatial inhomogeneities on the performance of the reactor was created. After the evaluation of the mesh independence study, the simulator was used to calculate the carbonation reaction in a transient analysis with spatial coordinate-dependent density and viscosity changes. The model parameters (height-dependent mass transfer parameters and boundary flux parameters) were identified based on one physical experiment, and a set of 15 experiments were used for model validation. With the validated model, the optimal operating temperature, pressure, and catalyst concentration was proposed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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12 pages, 2270 KiB  
Article
Evolution of Specific Heat Capacity with Temperature for Typical Supports Used for Heterogeneous Catalysts
by Xiaojia Lu, Yanjun Wang, Lionel Estel, Narendra Kumar, Henrik Grénman and Sébastien Leveneur
Processes 2020, 8(8), 911; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8080911 - 01 Aug 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4942
Abstract
Heterogeneous catalysts are widely used in the chemical industry. Compared with homogeneous catalysts, they can be easily separated from the reaction mixture. To design and optimize an efficient and safe chemical process one needs to calculate the energy balance, implying the need for [...] Read more.
Heterogeneous catalysts are widely used in the chemical industry. Compared with homogeneous catalysts, they can be easily separated from the reaction mixture. To design and optimize an efficient and safe chemical process one needs to calculate the energy balance, implying the need for knowledge of the catalyst’s specific heat capacity. Such values are typically not reported in the literature, especially not the temperature dependence. To fill this gap in knowledge, the specific heat capacities of commonly utilized heterogeneous catalytic supports were measured at different temperatures in a Tian–Calvet calorimeter. The following materials were tested: activated carbon, aluminum oxide, amberlite IR120 (H-form), H-Beta-25, H-Beta-38, H-Y-60, H-ZSM-5-23, H-ZSM-5-280, silicon dioxide, titanium dioxide, and zeolite 13X. Polynomial expressions were successfully fitted to the experimental data. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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21 pages, 11173 KiB  
Article
Performance Evaluation of Elimination of Stagnation of Solar Thermal Systems
by Miroslav Rimar, Marcel Fedak, Jakub Vahovsky, Andrii Kulikov, Peter Oravec, Olha Kulikova, Michal Smajda and Miroslav Kana
Processes 2020, 8(5), 621; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8050621 - 22 May 2020
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3235
Abstract
The study deals with the possibility of elimination of stagnation of thermal systems. The state of stagnation of thermal systems leads to overheating and evaporation of the heat transfer medium, which increases pressure and can lead to damage to the solar thermal system. [...] Read more.
The study deals with the possibility of elimination of stagnation of thermal systems. The state of stagnation of thermal systems leads to overheating and evaporation of the heat transfer medium, which increases pressure and can lead to damage to the solar thermal system. Stagnation can occur due to a fault and stopping of the circulation pump, which causes the circulation of the heat transfer medium to stop. Another possibility is to achieve thermal saturation in the system, which can be affected by low heat consumption from the system. Elimination of stagnation is possible by various construction designs of collectors or by using other technical means. This study describes an experiment verifying the usability of a thermal collector’s tilting system to eliminate thermal stagnation of the system. The system is fully automatic, and when recording the limit values, ensures that the panel is rotated out of the ideal position, thus reducing the amount of received energy. In this way, the temperature of the medium in the system can be reduced by up to 10% in one hour. In the case of thermal saturation of the system, the solution is the automatic circulation of heat-transfer fluid through the system during the night and the release of thermal energy to the outside. These results suggest that the methods used actively eliminate stagnation of thermal systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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15 pages, 1568 KiB  
Article
Application of Evolutionary Game Theory in Safety Management of Chemical Production
by Qiusheng Song, Peng Jiang and Song Zheng
Processes 2020, 8(4), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8040472 - 16 Apr 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2855
Abstract
The chemical industry is essential in the social economy, and the issue of production safety has aroused widespread concern. Chemical safety incidents occupy the headlines from time to time, and chemical production safety management is particularly important. This paper presents an application model [...] Read more.
The chemical industry is essential in the social economy, and the issue of production safety has aroused widespread concern. Chemical safety incidents occupy the headlines from time to time, and chemical production safety management is particularly important. This paper presents an application model based on evolutionary game theory in the assessment and analysis of chemical production safety management. The model uses evolutionary game theory to construct a strategic interactive payoff matrix between the management department of a chemical plant and the chemical plant using a replicated dynamic equation to analyze their strategic interaction and to reveal the evolution of behavioral strategy selection. The evolution results were verified and simulated. The application of this model provides an effective safety management basis and recommendations for the management of chemical plants, providing a foundation for the safe production and healthy development of chemical plants. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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17 pages, 6895 KiB  
Article
Investigation into the Suppression Effects of Inert Powders on the Minimum Ignition Temperature and the Minimum Ignition Energy of Polyethylene Dust
by Chendi Lin, Yingquan Qi, Xiangyang Gan, Hao Feng, Yan Wang, Wentao Ji and Xiaoping Wen
Processes 2020, 8(3), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8030294 - 04 Mar 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3044
Abstract
The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety. One effective principle is to add an inert material to a [...] Read more.
The risks associated with dust explosions still exist in industries that either process or handle combustible dust. This explosion risk could be prevented or mitigated by applying the principle of inherent safety. One effective principle is to add an inert material to a highly combustible material in order to decrease its ignition sensitivity. This paper deals with an experimental investigation of the influence of inert dust on the minimum ignition temperature and the minimum explosion energy of combustible dust. The experiments detailed here were performed in a Godbert–Greenwald (GG) furnace and a 1.2 L Hartmann tube. The combustible dust (polyethylene—PE; 800 mesh) and four inert powders (NaHCO3, Na2C2O4, KHCO3, and K2C2O4) were used. The suppression effects of the four inert powders on the minimum ignition temperature and the minimum explosion energy of the PE dust have been evaluated and compared with each other. The results show that all of the four different inert dusts have an effective suppression effect on the minimum ignition temperature and the minimum explosion energy of PE dust. However, the comparison of the results indicates that the suppression effect of bicarbonate dusts is better than that of oxalate dust. For the same kind of bicarbonate dusts, the suppression effects of potassium salt dusts are better than those of the sodium salt. The possible mechanisms for the better suppression effects of bicarbonate dusts and potassium salt dusts have been analyzed here. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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14 pages, 3037 KiB  
Article
Thermal Analysis of Vacuum Resistance Furnace
by Saeed Badshah, Muhammad Atif, Ihsan Ul Haq, Suheel Abdullah Malik, Mujahid Badshah and Sakhi Jan
Processes 2019, 7(12), 907; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7120907 - 03 Dec 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3523
Abstract
The current paper describes the effect of insulation thickness in a vacuum resistance furnace. An existing furnace was optimized for insulation thickness using analytical and numerical studies. Furnace heating efficiency was improved up to 64% by controlling the heat flow at the insulation [...] Read more.
The current paper describes the effect of insulation thickness in a vacuum resistance furnace. An existing furnace was optimized for insulation thickness using analytical and numerical studies. Furnace heating efficiency was improved up to 64% by controlling the heat flow at the insulation face. The numerical results were validated experimentally and vice versa. The numerical results predicted a decrease in heat flow of 70%, while the experimentally achieved value was 64%. The percentage difference in numerical and experimental results was calculated to be 1.5–5% maximum in temperature value. The effect of mesh finesse was evaluated for thermal analysis and it was concluded that a very little difference of 5 °C occurs when element size is reduced 5 times. The study using numerical methods will help in designing better and upgraded furnaces with greater energy savings. Also, the application of numerical methods is proposed as an effective design and performance prediction tool during manufacturing and operational activities of vacuum furnaces, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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22 pages, 4385 KiB  
Article
Prediction of Lithium-ion Battery Thermal Runaway Propagation for Large Scale Applications Fire Hazard Quantification
by Mohamad Syazarudin Md Said and Mohd Zahirasri Mohd Tohir
Processes 2019, 7(10), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7100703 - 05 Oct 2019
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7531
Abstract
The high capacity and voltage properties demonstrated by lithium-ion batteries render them as the preferred energy carrier in portable electronic devices. The application of the lithium-ion batteries which previously circulating and contained around small-scale electronics is now expanding into large scale emerging markets [...] Read more.
The high capacity and voltage properties demonstrated by lithium-ion batteries render them as the preferred energy carrier in portable electronic devices. The application of the lithium-ion batteries which previously circulating and contained around small-scale electronics is now expanding into large scale emerging markets such as electromobility and stationary energy storage. Therefore, the understanding of the risk involved is imperative. Thermal runaway is the most common failure mode of lithium-ion battery which may lead to safety incidents. Transport process of immense amounts of heat released during thermal runaway of lithium-ion battery to neighboring batteries in a module can lead to cascade failure of the whole energy storage system. In this work, a model is developed to predict the propagation of lithium-ion battery in a module for large scale applications. For this purpose, kinetic of material thermal decomposition is combined with heat transfer modelling. The simulation is built based on chemical kinetics at component level of a singular cell and energy balance that accounts for conductive and convective heat transfer. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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Other

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18 pages, 7002 KiB  
Case Report
Investigation and Analysis of a Hazardous Chemical Accident in the Process Industry: Triggers, Roots, and Lessons Learned
by Jianhao Wang, Gui Fu and Mingwei Yan
Processes 2020, 8(4), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8040477 - 18 Apr 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 12063
Abstract
This paper performs an in-depth investigation and analysis on a catastrophic hazardous chemical accident involving domino effects in China based on an emerging accident causation model—the 24Model. The triggers and roots of the incident from the individual and organizational levels have been identified [...] Read more.
This paper performs an in-depth investigation and analysis on a catastrophic hazardous chemical accident involving domino effects in China based on an emerging accident causation model—the 24Model. The triggers and roots of the incident from the individual and organizational levels have been identified and several useful lessons have been summarized to avoid similar mistakes. This accident began with a leak of vinyl chloride caused by the failure of the gas holder’s bell housing and the operators’ mishandling. Leaked vinyl chloride was ignited by a high-temperature device in the process of diffusion and the fire quickly spread to the illegally parked vehicles. Several organizations were involved in this accident, and the chemical company should bear the main responsibility for it, and shall establish and implement an effective safety management system in its organizational structure and staffing, facilities management, hazards identification, emergency disposal, etc., to improve safety performance in a systematic way. Enterprises in the chemical industry park shall enhance the communication to clarify major hazard installations in their domains, and conduct regular safety evaluation for the plant as the external environment changed. Government agencies shall plan the layout of the chemical industry park scientifically and ensure safety starts with the design stage. The case study provides a practical procedure for accident investigation and analysis, and thus, preventive measures can be made according to the various causations at different levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermal Safety of Chemical Processes)
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