Re:Possibility of explosion at Arkema chemical plant near Ho...
by wlesieutre on Wednesday August 30, 2017 @11:03PM
(#15137875)
I don't know a ton about chemistry so I did a bit of looking. The trouble with organic peroxides is that the oxygen bonds are unstable and decompose easily. There are compounding effects:
1) The higher the temperature, the faster the decomposition
2) Decomposition releases energy, driving the temperature up
There's a threshold called the "Self Accelerating Decomposition Temperature" at which point the released energy can't flow into the environment as fast as it's being produced, causing a runaway reaction. Didn't find specific temperatures, but they're cold enough to require refrigeration. Without power to run that, the stored peroxides will definitely become unstable and explode.
The facility in question on Google Maps - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Arkema+Inc./@29.9494556,-9...
Thankfully not much around it within 1.5 mi.