They could have applied for relief money from having to do it but they would have had to reveal what chemicals in what amounts they had to destroy. Secrecy came before anything else.
A "deflagration" occurs when a combustable mixture is locally ignited and the resulting heat travels subsonically through the mixture in a wave of further combustion (an exothermic redox reaction). If if the shockwave's progress through the material remains subsonic, the fastest deflagrations are "low explosive"; low-speed deflagration is what occurs in your fireplace. When an ignition wave travels at supersonic speed through combustable material, the material is called a "high explosive".
When methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, or benzoyl peroxide - these or very similar compounds are likely what these materials mostly are - get too warm they "decompose" and expand, increasing pressure and temperature if the material is confined. No combustion of the material is necessary for this to happen catastrophically. It can burst its container and may then ignite and burn, which is apparently what's happened at this Arkema plant.
Explosion may occur with any confined reaction, whether or not the materials confined are themselves explosive.
MEKP is used in small amounts to cause liquid resin to harden in fiberglass mixtures and hobbyist polyester resin casting and so forth. It's very instability is what causes the useful hardening reaction. Benzoyl peroxide is among many other applications used to dry up oily skin.
The article concerns the danger involved in preparing, using and handling inorganic peroxides, which are extremely powerful oxidizers and very dangerous in the presence of fuel. They're used as part of rocket propellants and so forth.
You're right - there are different categories of explosions. Rapid but subsonic combustion is deflagration, which may lead to a "low" explosive reaction (gun powder, for example, is a low explosive). If the combustion shockwave is supersonic through the fuel-oxidizer mixture, the result is a "high" explosive reaction, or detonation.
As you say, a boiler may also explode although its contents are not explosives.
They could have applied for relief money from having to do it but they would have had to reveal what chemicals in what amounts they had to destroy. Secrecy came before anything else.
No cask of Amontillado. He doesn't drink.
"House made."
A "deflagration" occurs when a combustable mixture is locally ignited and the resulting heat travels subsonically through the mixture in a wave of further combustion (an exothermic redox reaction). If if the shockwave's progress through the material remains subsonic, the fastest deflagrations are "low explosive"; low-speed deflagration is what occurs in your fireplace. When an ignition wave travels at supersonic speed through combustable material, the material is called a "high explosive".
When methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, or benzoyl peroxide - these or very similar compounds are likely what these materials mostly are - get too warm they "decompose" and expand, increasing pressure and temperature if the material is confined. No combustion of the material is necessary for this to happen catastrophically. It can burst its container and may then ignite and burn, which is apparently what's happened at this Arkema plant.
Explosion may occur with any confined reaction, whether or not the materials confined are themselves explosive.
MEKP is used in small amounts to cause liquid resin to harden in fiberglass mixtures and hobbyist polyester resin casting and so forth. It's very instability is what causes the useful hardening reaction. Benzoyl peroxide is among many other applications used to dry up oily skin.
The article concerns the danger involved in preparing, using and handling inorganic peroxides, which are extremely powerful oxidizers and very dangerous in the presence of fuel. They're used as part of rocket propellants and so forth.
You're right - there are different categories of explosions. Rapid but subsonic combustion is deflagration, which may lead to a "low" explosive reaction (gun powder, for example, is a low explosive). If the combustion shockwave is supersonic through the fuel-oxidizer mixture, the result is a "high" explosive reaction, or detonation.
As you say, a boiler may also explode although its contents are not explosives.
I love Lowe's "Things I Won't Work With" series, which includes phrases such as "gibbering nitrogen-stuffed detonation bait". ^_^
It's a colorful and accurate description of such compounds.
An Inspector Clouseau accent.
The sheriffs best line was " It's smoke, like camp fire smoke" You could tell he was another chemical company shill on the bribe roll.
"…you wanna watch out for the guys in red suspenders ;-)"
Isn't he the UNIX admin?
"Montresor"? Yeah, had an acquaintancence who used to call me that. Sort of an inside joke....
So, if you can't go a day without hearing about Brian Dennehy.... ;-)
For lack of a better target, I'm pretty sure they would relentlessly attack their own image in a mirror...
Those chemical vapors won't hurt you , they might kill you though.
Camp fire smoke can kill you.