Abstract: The accelerating rate calorimeter disclosed herein is an instrument designed for accurately determining the adiabatic thermal runaway characteristics of reactive chemicals. The mode of operation involves measuring the adiabatic self-heat rate of exothermic chemical reactions to determine the acceleration of the reaction rate as a function of temperature. The basic instrument includes a sample vessel which is positioned inside a reaction chamber. The environment surrounding the sample vessel is a gas, such as air, or an inert gas, or it can be a vacuum environment. Separate heater means are provided for heating the reaction chamber and the sample vessel.During the exothermic reaction of the chemical in the sample vessel, the temperature of the reaction chamber and the sample vessel are continuously monitored by separate temperature sensing means.

Abstract: The accelerating rate calorimeter disclosed herein is an instrument designed for accurately determining the adiabatic thermal runaway characteristics of reactive chemicals. The mode of operation involves measuring the adiabatic self-heat rate of exothermic chemical reactions to determine the acceleration of the reaction rate as a function of temperature. The basic instrument includes a sample vessel which is positioned inside a reaction chamber. The environment surrounding the sample vessel is a gas, such as air, or an inert gas, or it can be a vacuum environment. Separate heater means are provided for heating the reaction chamber and the sample vessel.During the exothermic reaction of the chemical in the sample vessel, the temperature of the reaction chamber and the sample vessel are continuously monitored by separate temperature sensing means.

Abstract: A nonadiabatic calorimetric technique useful broadly for quantifying the reaction kinetics of thermally unstable solids is based on the distinguishing mode of establishing, under near steady state conditions, a thermal gradient across a reaction sample contained between monitored hot and cold surfaces, stepwise or rampwise increasing the temperature of the hot surface, and quantifying the maximum temperature that is withstood by the sample at the inception condition of a thermal runaway reaction. The critical hot surface temperature recorded by the experiment is a function of the cold surface condition, i.e., the applied thermal gradient. At least two critical hot surface temperatures, which are required for calculations, are generated by repeating the experiment under differing cold surface conditions. Solution of the steady-state differential equation describing the system, utilizing the experimental data, yields the general kinetics of the decomposition reaction of the tested solid.

Abstract: It is common practice to discharge waste vapors from certain chemical processes into the atmosphere. Many of these vapors, usually referred to as "vent gases", contain compounds which are considered to be pollutants in the atmosphere. In this invention the vent gases are oxidized in the combustion chamber of a Diesel engine before release to the atmosphere. The oxidation step reduces the concentration of noxious compounds in the vapor to a level acceptable for atmospheric discharge.