The contact-temperature ignition (CTI) criteria for propagating chemical reactions including the effect of moisture and application to Hanford waste

To assure the continued absence of uncontrolled condensed-phase chemical reactions in connection with the Hanford waste materials, efforts have been underway including both theoretical and experimental investigations to clarify the requirements for such reactions. This document defines the differences and requirements for homogeneous runaway and propagating chemical reactions incuding a discussion of general contact-temperature ignition (CTI) condition for propagating reactions that include the effect of moisture. The CTI condition implies that the contact temperature or interface temperature between reacted and unreacted materials must exceed the ignition temperature and is compared to experimental data including both synthetic ferrocyanide and surrogate organic materials. In all cases, the occurrences of ignition accompanied by self-propagating reactions are consistent with the theoretical anticipations of the CTI condition