Simulation of thermal explosions in gaseous mixtures

Abstract

Thermal explosions of three gaseous mixtures, (i) methyl isocyanide–ethyl isocyanide, (ii) methyl isocyanide–diethyl mercury and (iii) methyl isocyanide–di-t-butyl peroxide, at 350°C in a 2 dm³ sphere, are examined numerically. In case (i), the reactants appear to behave in an almost additive fashion, but in case (ii) the production of ethyl radicals from the diethyl mercury sensitises the explosion of the methyl isocyanide; however, in case (iii), the dominant effect is not a free-radical one, but an acceleration of the explosion due to the energy release in the peroxide decomposition.