Identifying hazardous chemical reactivity

Hazardous chemical reactivity is chemical reaction that can produce detonation, deflagration or runaway reaction, which can possibly lead to thermal explosion. In the course of the development of a chemical manufacturing process, the raw materials, process streams, isolated intermediates, final product (and the variations of these that are likely to be caused by some process upset) must all be evaluated to determine the potential of each for hazardous chemical reactivity. Although toxic, ecotoxic and flammability hazards may also result from reactivity, this short article is limited to a review of the general strategy and thermal analytical methods used to identify hazards due to the rapid and uncontrolled release of energy by reaction. It is intended as an introduction to the field, and so provides numerous references to the basic sources.