Evaluation of self-heating models for peracetic acid using calorimetry

- Adiabatic calorimetry is applied to study thermal runaway for PAA.
- The concentrated PAA could cause the thermal explosion after a runaway reaction.
- A self-heating model with nth-order kinetic equation of PAA is proposed.

Thermal analysis of peracetic acid (PAA) with respect to the explosive properties was performed using calorimetry. The exothermic characteristics and thermal runaway profiles of PAA solutions were acquired through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and vent sizing package 2 (VSP2). The results revealed significant enthalpy changes and gas eruption for PAA solutions that were subjected to free-radical induced and autocatalytic reactions. The reaction kinetics and order of various PAA solutions were elucidated using calorimetry.