Runaway Reaction Hazards in Processing Organic Nitro Compounds

Pure organic nitro compounds, i.e., aromatic or aliphatic nitro compounds, decompose at high temperatures, exhibiting large decomposition exotherms. In most cases, the decomposition is violent or explosive. In practical process situations, nitro compounds are mixed with other chemicals or contaminated by impurities which lower their thermal stability. Contaminated nitro compounds or solutions of nitro compounds may decompose at much lower temperatures than the pure products. Their decomposition is less rapid but remains highly exothermic. Therefore, for practical reasons, the most relevant information in the field of process safety is to describe how reactants, solvents, and impurities may affect the organic nitro compounds' thermal stability and in which process situations this may be a hazard.