In the summer of 1998, in a Witco Corporation chemical plant in Bergkamen, Germany a worker in the container cleaning department had a problem. A pressure vessel used to transport aluminum alkyls had been returned by a customer for a routine cleaning. Once cleaned, such containers were re-filled and shipped out with fresh product. The problem was that this particular container was returned with some solidified material at the bottom that stubbornly remained after several attempts to remove it using the prescribed methodology.
For those of you unfamiliar with aluminum alkyls, you should know that it is a highly reactive, liquid chemical compound used in the plastics and rubber manufacturing industries. It spontaneously burns when it comes in contact with air, and it practically explodes when it comes into contact with water. Take a minute to Google “aluminum alkyls fire video” and you’ll see how “exciting” working with this stuff can be.
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