/sci/ - Science & Math

[Anonymous No.6950569]

hello, I don't normally frequent this board but I want to ask a question that I'm having trouble googling.

I work in a factory. I operate a few extruders making styrofoam sheet. The sheet is used to make food plates and to-go box containers. The styrofoam is made by mixing polystyrene with a gas called pentane under heat and pressure.

Long story short - sometimes this stuff catches on fire. A couple of times its even gotten kinda hairy. We are going to stop using pentane soon, and start using butane because it is cheaper.

I found the lower explosive limit/lower flammable limit in a chart here
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html

of the two gases with pentane around 1.4 and butane at 1.8 - so about the same with the pentate igniting slightly more easily.

is the butane going to "poof" harder? is it going to burn hotter once it does? Is it going to be more dangerous?

[Anonymous No.6950790]

Butane heats less but may be more flammable (lighter fuel)

Gas Gross Net Heating Value (Btu/Scf)
isobutane 3354 3094
n-butane 3369 3101
isopentane 4001 3698
n-pentane 4009 3709
http://www.enggcyclopedia.com/2011/09/heating-values-natural-gas/

Inhalation of butane can cause euphoria, drowsiness, narcosis, asphyxia, cardiac arrhythmia, fluctuations in blood pressure, temporary memory loss and frostbite, and can result in death from asphyxiation and ventricular fibrillation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butane

Pentanes are some of the primary blowing agents used in the production of polystyrene foam and other foams. Usually, a mixture of n-, i-, and increasingly cyclopentane is used for this purpose.
Because of its low boiling point, low cost, and relative safety, pentane is used..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentane

[Anonymous No.6950801]

>>6950569
>>6950790
Put simply. In the production process less fires. If there is a storage/transport failure then orders of magnitude higher effects.
ask to see the risk assessments.