News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by dan_sbl on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @05:10PM (#48286014)
I believe they tried to inject some chemicals to slow the reaction, but the pump and/or valves failed and clogged.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by kenhwang on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:55PM (#48287136)
I was thinking maybe have those chemicals sitting in a glass or temperature sensitive container inside the tank. So when there's too much pressure or heat, the container containing the neutralizing chemical is broken like a fuse and the chemical is automatically released.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by coryrc on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @11:45PM (#48289367)
Having the chemical in one location doesn't make it active all over, you need to disperse it. Like you need to shake glow-in-the-dark bracelets.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by thinking_cactus on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @03:05AM (#48290719)
Well then... make a matrix of such fuse-containers? (say every 20cm or whatever) I guess manufacturing such a matrix would be pretty expensive though, you'd need to carefully automate its production I think. It would also definitely interfere with flow of fluid in the tank.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by tardedmeme on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @05:53AM (#48291924)
Easy to imagine protective mechanisms in hindsight, now imagine you have to build a system for every tank of every chemical in the world
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by robocat on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @02:24PM (#48298337)
I am imagining some sort of regulations that enforce the creation and installation of appropriate safety systems upon all similar sites in the affected jurisdiction.

And a standard to prevent similar danger elsewhere in the world.

Or is that too fantastic? Perhaps I should stick with the distopian fiction I so love. Why haven't flying cars taken off yet?

Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by kenhwang on Wednesday May 27, 2026 @02:13PM (#48298193)
I was thinking multiple long skinny tubes with etchings that make them more likely to split lengthwise. Maybe with a spring loaded/powered agitator so when the tube breaks there's some mechanical flinging/mixing of the inner chemical.

But I'm not a chemical processes engineer, so I don't know how much mixing is needed. But the existing emergency plan was to inject the the chemical through a single valve, so it seems like the dispersion and mixing requirements in this case seems to be low.

Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by robocat on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:02PM (#48286621)
That is active.

Something passive could be submerging the tank in a pool of water (also good for proving spill containment won't leak).

Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by cyberax on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @07:47PM (#48287553)
Typically you don't have enough surface area for that. The walls are thick enough that thermal conductivity into an ambient-temperature liquid alone is not going to be sufficient.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by colechristensen on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:31PM (#48286894)
Uh, you can't just disconnect a pressurized 35,000 gallon tank and drop it into a an enormous pool you just keep full under it at all times.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by robocat on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:47PM (#48287053)
Riiight. That is exactly what I was thinking.
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by colechristensen on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @08:13PM (#48287768)
It's really unclear what you were thinking
Re:Chemistry behind the Garden Grove chemical tank by bagels on Tuesday May 26, 2026 @06:54PM (#48287120)
I think the passive version is the tank stays in a pool all the time.