Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 24

Case Study Example The type of chemical reaction that was taking place in T2 laboratories reaction chambers was an exothermic reaction. An exothermic reaction is a type of chemical reaction where energy is produced during the reaction (Atkins & Paula, 2001). In a typical reaction, for a product to be formed then energy has to be supplied in order to break the bonds of the reactants, however during the formation of products, energy is released. In case of an exothermic reaction, the energy released during the formation of products is higher than the one needed to break the bonds of the reactants. In connection to this, the excess energy is released in form of heat (Atkins & Paula, 2001). In order to show the change in energy as a reaction progress, most chemists prefer using potential energy diagrams. A potential energy diagram has the y-axis representing the potential energy and the x-axis showing the change in potential energy as shown in figure 1 (Atkins & Paula, 2001). Although, just like any other form of reaction, energy is conserved and the excess energy that is not used up is released to the environment in form of kinetic energy, light or heat as shown in figure 3 (Atkins & Paula, 2001). T2 laboratories manufactured {Methylcyclopentadienyl)-manganese(I)tricarbonyl}, a gasoline additive. The chemical reactions used to produce the product were exothermic in nature. Therefore, it is important that the company knows the maximum amount of energy that can be released by the reactants in order to prevent vessels from bursting. It is important that training activities and materials incorporate all aspects of chemical hazards. In addition, all employees especially those in the processing section should be made aware of the consequences of not following the laid down procedures (EPA, 2005). In regards to T2 laboratories, the owners of T2 laboratories were trained on chemistry and chemical engineering. However, it seems they were not trained on chemical reactivity