FEEM Health & Safety Working Group MeetingBrussels 12 – 13 March 2013

Lab nitration in a different way?

Presentation by Walter Panchyrz

Eurodyn Sprengmittel GmbH in Burbach-Würgendorf/Germany

Lab nitration in a different way?

For more than 100 years, customers like to use the good old dynamites for digging in the ground…,

… and right from the beginning of their use, accidents have happened forcing the manufacturers to find out what went wrong in the course of the process and how to protect people from harm.

Alfred Nobel

?

For more than 100 years, the dynamite manufacturers have implemented safer processes and have improved their safety standards.

Nitration control room

Rinse & separation facilities

Centrifuge

Nitro glycol storageNitration control room

Production of nitro glycol

Chemists realized that one major fact to “deal with the fire” is the purity of raw materials to not run into the risk to open “Pandora’s box” during the manufacturing process. For example:

Impurities in glycolfrom transport

EGDN how it should look like (clear and pure)

Blast oil phase how it looks like in the process

(cloudy)

Drops of grease as a “gift” from transport company

Certificate including proof of cleaning in

place

Quality control is mandatory!

Moreover chemists developed clear standards for raw material quality controls, e.g. glycerin and MEG.

MEG Test Schedule MEG Work Instructions

Specification Controls

Why lab nitration?

Schlegel bulb Quantity: ~ 60 gr

Prior to the production process, a lab nitration is undertaken using a small quantity of MEG or glycerin in order to generate a reaction and to previouslya)discover any side reactions (worst case: fumes, impurities)b)make sure that the separation of nitration acids and product will proceed in the production process as required.

Chemical equation for glycol:

(nitric acid) (water)

100 years lab nitration without an accident…?

…or sitting on a bomb?

Idea # 1: Same mass, same energy -> protect staff

(wearing a Kevlar fibre protective vest)

Blasting site (before)

Blasting site (after)

Kevlar fibre (after)does not work

Brain storming about protective measures in the lab

But idea without benefit!

Let him work in a protected way: Result (after shock wave > 7000 m/sec):

No mass reduction possible, idea without benefit!

Brain storming about protective measures in the lab

Idea # 2: New lab equipment, no mass reduction -> run the process automatically

Temper bath

Micro reactor

8,4 cm

Brain storming about protective measures in the lab

Idea # 3: Implement new technology -> use a micro reactor

An idea with benefit as the same result is achieved by pre-process testing smaller quantities at lower risk for lab staff!

The results with only ~ 1 gr mass:

Before stirring

good EGDN poor EGDN

Start

good EGDN poor EGDN

+120 sec

The change after implementing the new technology

The benefit: Achieving the same results at a much higher safety standard level!

Another benefit: Improve work safety for our staff…

…and keep authorities happy and smiling!