The evaluation of risks of ethoxylation reactors

Alkoxylations are commonly performed in industry for the production of surfactants and polyglycols by means of a simple semi‐batch liquid‐stirred reactor. More recent processes use semi‐batch Venturi Loop Reactors (VCR) or Spray Tower Loop Reactors (SLR), where liquid phase is dispersed into the gaseous oxides through recirculation loops. In this article, a risk analysis is made on the recirculation loops to compare these three reactor types. More specifically, the analysis of consequences for the ethoxylation of dodecanol with different ethylene oxide partial pressures and process temperatures are studied. The atmospheric wind velocity was varied for a range of releases from the recirculation loop or from small releases from flanges and valves along the same pipeline.