Why is triethylaluminum, a polypropylene activator, sealed with diesel?
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Why is the polypropylene activator, triethylaluminum, storage tank sealed with diesel? Today, we will use nitrogen to purge the activator tank. The diesel in the vent tank heats up. What’s going on?
Triethylaluminum is extremely flammable and can catch fire on its own in the presence of air or water; it must be sealed to keep air and moisture out using kerosene or light diesel. This can be used as a rocket propellant. Go and look up the properties of triethylaluminum, and you’ll know.
Triethylaluminum is a strong oxidizer; it reacts spontaneously with air and explodes when in contact with water. There is still a small amount of triethylaluminum in the diesel in the vent pipes, and nitrogen used for displacement contains trace amounts of water and oxygen, so slight heating is normal.
Triethylaluminum is a self-igniting substance that burns upon contact with water; therefore, it must be stored in an environment free from air and must not come into contact with water. Diesel has a high ignition point and is not volatile, making it relatively safe; therefore, it is used as an anti-seize agent for triethylaluminum. During nitrogen purging of the tank, triethylaluminum in gas phase along with a small amount in liquid phase is carried out and dissolved in diesel. It comes into contact with any small amount of water present in the diesel as well as the air in the gas phase above the oil surface, resulting in a slow oxidation reaction that releases heat, thereby raising the temperature of the diesel. Personal analysis, for reference only.
It shouldn’t be sealed with diesel, right? We use VG64 oil.
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In polypropylene production, triethylaluminum is used as a co-catalyst to activate the catalyst. Triethylaluminum is highly oxidizing; it catches fire in contact with air, explodes when exposed to water, and can react with CO and CO2. After nitrogen displacement, there is still a trace amount of moisture inside the cylinder; in addition, diesel contains a small amount of water, which reacts with triethylaluminum to release heat, causing the diesel to warm up. Additionally, during displacement, mineral oil should be used multiple times first, followed by nitrogen displacement; simply using nitrogen for displacement does not ensure that triethylaluminum is completely removed.
Triethylaluminum in nitrogen must be cleaned with diesel before it can be released into the atmosphere, as it burns when exposed to air and reacts violently with water