Alternative cooling fluids for use in nitration vessels

摘要

Accident reports have shown that some secondary cooling fluids are extremely dangerous if they accidentally come into contact with mixed-Acid nitrating acids. A selection of water-based potential heat exchange fluids has been tested by mixing with typical nitrating acids and compared with the effects produced by adding water alone. In contrast with the explosive effects produced when methanol/water and ethanediol/water are allowed to mix with mixed acids, three aqueous inorganic solutions-magnesium nitrate, iron (III) nitrate and phosphoric acid-were found to interact much less exothermically, even less than is observed on adding the same amount of water that these solutions contain.