Runaway reaction

How it is used

A major topic in process safety, especially for batch reactors. Engineers study it with reaction calorimetry, design emergency cooling, quench or venting, and size relief systems for the runaway case. Typical triggers are cooling failure, agitator failure and over-charging.

Example sentences

1. If the agitator stops during dosing, unreacted material builds up and can cause a runaway reaction.

2. Calorimetry tests showed that a runaway reaction would reach 210 °C within ten minutes.

Common collocations

• thermal runaway
• prevent a runaway reaction
• runaway scenario
• emergency cooling

Related terms

• exothermicDescribes a reaction or process that releases heat to its surroundings, such as combustion, neutralization or most polymerizations.
• relief valveA spring-loaded valve that opens by itself when the pressure in a vessel or pipe goes above a set limit, releasing fluid to protect the equipment from bursting.
• interlockAn automatic protective function that stops or prevents an action when a dangerous condition is detected, for example closing the feed valve on high reactor pressure.
• agitatorA motor-driven shaft with one or more impellers that mixes the contents of a tank or reactor to keep solids suspended, spread heat and help reactions.
• batch processA way of producing in separate loads: materials are charged into a vessel, processed for a set time and then emptied before the next load starts.

More terms: Process Safety and Hazards

• hazard
• HAZOP
• safety data sheet
• flash point
• lockout/tagout
• trip
• lower explosive limit
• purge