Use of the Ultra Low Temperature RC1e Reaction Calorimeter

Experiments using the Ultra Low Temperature RC1e Reaction Calorimeter were carried out using acetone as the reaction medium. These experiments enabled the capabilities of the calorimeter to be determined. These included minimum operating temperature, temperature stability, baseline stability, cool down rates, and controllability of additions. Experiments were carried out with the standard SV01 reactor and glass head, both with and without specially designed lagging for the reactor and head. The experiments were then repeated with an MT01 head fitted. The MT01 head was cooled to −65 °C via the use of an external oil chiller. Additions of ambient temperature acetone were carried out over 30 min at reactor temperatures of −70, −50, and −30 °C. An actual chemical process was also evaluated using the RC1. This enabled the calorimeter to be tested in a real life situation. A suitable operating procedure has been developed which overcomes a number of problems, which were highlighted with respect to the RC1's built-in safety system. The temperature and baseline stability along with the minimum achievable temperature of the jacket and reactor were established when the RC1 was connected to a Huber 390W chiller. The degree of temperature control was determined for the additions at each temperature. This was established for the different reactor configurations.