Thermal hazard evaluation of cyclohexanone peroxide synthesis

Cyclohexanone peroxide, a crucial organic peroxide used as a curing agent or an initiator in free radical polymerization, is produced through a reaction of cyclohexanone with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of nitric acid as the catalyst. For this study, we used reaction calorimeter, differential scanning calorimetry, and accelerating rate calorimeter to evaluate the thermal hazard characteristics of cyclohexanone peroxide synthesis and the thermal stability of cyclohexanone peroxide. The overall kinetic parameters of the peroxide reaction, which were calculated based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, were validated using experimental data. By combining the maximum temperature of the synthesis reaction that was corrected by the yield and temperature, at which time to the maximum rate under adiabatic decomposition conditions was equal to 24 h, criticality classes were depicted to assess the cooling failure scenario of the peroxide reaction. This study enhances our understanding of the peroxide reaction and presents safer operating conditions and design protection measures for a safer and greener chemical industry.