A comparison of calorimetric measurements by using different reaction calorimeters

For a great number of European safety groups, reaction calorimetry is the key technique for analysis of the main reaction in the risk assessment of chemical processes. A comparison of calorimetric studies of model reactions, the N-oxidation of two substituted pyridines with hydrogen peroxide, made by several European groups, can open the door to standardization of the methodologies used. However, the intrinsic experimental complexity of the model reactions, which included dosing at high temperature, a multiphase system and evaporation, and the different evaluation criteria, produced a considerable dispersion between the results obtained by the various groups.