Energetic Material Process Development

Data gathered at various pH values will be discussed. The influence of pH will be presented on the purity and thermal stability of the explosive product. The batch experiment data was utilized to create process models and these models were used to design, build and test a series of continuous stirred tank reactors at the 50-liter scale producing kilogram quantities of the desired product. The results of these experiments will be presented.

The numerous challenges associated with scaling-up chemical processes are compounded when the materials manufactured are explosives. Chemical processing incidents are unacceptable and the community continues to develop best practices for mitigating risk associated with scale-up. The risk may be reduced or eliminated with proper modeling and the ability to validate these models using synthesis workstations.

The ability to control impurities in chemical products takes on a new meaning when producing explosive compounds. The impurities are often more sensitive than the product and can influence sensitivity and thermal stability of the product. Isolating an explosive with a new impurity at larger scales can be hazardous and should be avoided. It is important to obtain the proper degree of process development to obtain a high quality product that will not pose a hazard to the operators involved with scale-up.