Comparison of the Results from Six Calorimeters in the Determination of the Thermokinetics of a Model Reaction

This paper deals with the comparison of experimental results from several types of commercially available calorimeters: a screening calorimeter (DSC), a Calvet calorimeter (C80), a reaction calorimeter (RC1), and various pseudo-adiabatic calorimeters (VSP 2, ARSST, and Phi-Tec 1). One exothermic reaction was selected as a case study: the esterification of acetic anhydride by methanol, a system which has been well studied in the literature. This reaction is put to the test in the six calorimeters under similar operating conditions. The objective of this series of tests is to obtain the thermo-kinetics of the reaction with each apparatus and compare the results. The goal is to determine which calorimetric method can be used (or not be used) for what purpose with respect to the reactive chemistry hazard. This approach gives also the opportunity to illustrate and summarize the potential of the experimental tools used in a complete risk assessment of a particular chemical process. The result can also be used in the education field as a simple and complete model of a case study. in er i