Flash Point and Volatility
Environmental Enlightenment #243
Gasoline is highly flammable
A flash is a sudden short blaze of intense light of flame. When something flashes, it bursts suddenly into flame.
The flash point of a flammable liquid is the lowest temperature where it will evaporate enough liquid to form an ignitable mixture in atmospheric air.
The flash point is an indication of how easy a chemical may burn. It is also an indication of how easy it will vaporize.
Materials with higher flash points are less flammable than chemicals with lower flash points.
Here are comparative flashpoints (in degrees Fahrenheit) for various liquids in open air (atmospheric pressure):
| Fuels: | |||
| Diesel fuels | 100-130 | ||
| Ethyl (grain) alcohol | 55 | ||
| Fuel oils | 100-336 | ||
| Gasoline | -45 | ||
| Jet fuel | 100 degrees F | ||
| Kerosene | 100-162 | ||
| Propane | -156 | ||
| Oils: | |||
| Corn oil | 650 | ||
| Gear oil | 375-580 | ||
| Mineral oil | 370 | ||
| Motor oil | 420-485 | ||
| Olive oil | 437 | ||
| Paraffin oil | 390 | ||
| Peanut oil | 620 | ||
| Solvents: | |||
| Acetone | 0 | ||
| Benzene | 12 | ||
| Methyl (wood) alcohol | 52 | ||
| Naphtha | 106 | ||
| Toluene | 40 | ||
| Xylene | 63 | ||
| Rearranging the list by values of flashpoints also indicates the comparative volatilities of these substances: | |||
| Propane | -156 | ||
| Gasoline | -45 | ||
| Acetone | 0 | ||
| Benzene | 12 | ||
| Toluene | 40 | ||
| Methyl (wood) alcohol | 52 | ||
| Ethyl (grain) alcohol | 55 | ||
| Xylene | 63 | ||
| Jet fuel | 100 degrees F | ||
| Naphtha | 106 | ||
| Diesel fuels | 100-130 | ||
| Fuel oils | 100-336 | ||
| Kerosene | 100-162 | ||
| Mineral oil | 370 | ||
| Paraffin oil | 390 | ||
| Gear oil | 375-580 | ||
| Motor oil | 420-485 | ||
| Olive oil | 437 | ||
| Corn oil | 650 | ||
| Peanut oil | 620 | ||
In the USA, there is a precise definition of flammable liquid as one with a flashpoint below 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Less-flammable liquids (with a flashpoint between 100 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit) are defined as combustible liquids.
Acknowledgment:
Materials in this newsletter have been borrowed from these sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
http://www.thefreedictionary.com
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/flash-point-fuels-d_937.html
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