The numerous challenges associated with scaling-up chemical processes are compounded when the materials manufactured are explosives. Chemical processing incidents are unacceptable and the community continues to develop best practices for mitigating risk associated with scale-up. The risk may be reduced or eliminated with proper modeling and the ability to validate these models using synthesis workstations.
The ability to control impurities in chemical products takes on a new meaning when producing explosive compounds. The impurities are often more sensitive than the product and can influence sensitivity and thermal stability of the product. Isolating an explosive with a new impurity at larger scales can be hazardous and should be avoided. It is important to obtain the proper degree of process development to obtain a high quality product that will not pose a hazard to the operators involved with scale-up.
Guest Presenter – Jerry Salan
Jerry Salan is the CEO and practicing chemical engineer at Nalas Engineering Services, Inc.