Kinetics and safety analysis of peracetic acid

Peroxyacids are commonly used in chemical processing, synthesis and bleaching. Recently, they have been demonstrated to be very versatile for the epoxidation of unsaturated oil, aiming at the synthesis of polyepoxide (plasticizer, resins and adhesives). These processes are characterized by high yields and selectivity. However, due to their hazard and instability, the peroxy reactants are often obtained from the corresponding organic acid in situ by combination with hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of a mineral (sulphuric or phosphoric) acid as catalyst. In this paper, the kinetic of decomposition of the peroxyacetic acid in water phase have been studied by using simple thermal screening calorimetry, with or without the catalyst