Answer to Question #2424 in Organic Chemistry for fouad

Question

Dose Nitrous gum & salt(NH3NOx) dissolved in methanol will react with toluene and generate TNT?

We are planning to wash our ethylene unit using methanol we believe their will be residual of Nitrous gum & salt(NH3NOx) in the cold box.
In order to dispose this liquid waste we are going to use our liquid incinerators. This option requires that we have to send the methanol+ Nitrous gum & salt mixtures to incinerator drum whish already having hydrocarbon mixture that consist of 13 mol% toluene. The issue here is that there is a thought, there could be a chance to form TNT by the reaction of NO2 with the toluene especially prior the incinerator burner which at high temperature (400-600 deg C); IS THIS THOUGHT VALID?

Answer 1

Trinitrotoluene forms under very high pressure and high temperature. May be, you get mononitrotoluene, but no heavyweight.