Evaporation Kinetics of Household and Industrial Liquids as an Index for Safe Handling and Storage

Abstract

Knowing the evaporation rate of liquid materials (volatility) is crucial for the assessment of fire risk of industrial and household products while being either processed or stored. Volatility data are particularly important for chemists, engineers, occupational health and safety staff, and warehouse personnel. The initial zero-order kinetic phase is a useful parameter that allows defining fire protection measurements harmonized with the volatility of products. The extent of this kinetic regime is determined by the initial fraction of the more volatile components in the bulk liquid materials. Qualitative mechanistic considerations are included for the evaporation kinetics of twenty-three products studied (industrial solvents and a heat transfer material, auto fuel additives, household products, and liquors), as examples of the procedure when volatility data are missing in safety data sheets, and educated assumptions must be resorted to. The experimental methodology requires no costly laboratory equipment.