: Can a gas cylinder explode if there’s no oxygen? assuming it is exposed to high heat
In: 1
Well…depends on what’s in the canister and what you mean by “explosion”. If there’s *any* pressurized gas in the canister and it is punctured, you’ll either get any explosion OR a decompression as the gas squeezes out through the hole. This will depend on the pressure level and the strength of the canister. Most industrial canister have ratings that describe these two scenarios. If there’s any gas at all in the canister and you expose it to *enough* heat, it’ll explode. Either from increased pressure or from heat stress.
Whether or not that explosion results in a fire/fireball depends on the nature of the gas and tye amount of heat applied. Many materials ignite on contact with air. I’m not aware of any that are gaseous, but white (or was it red?) phosphorus is a powder that ignites on contact with air, usually with explosive consequences. Also, many materials have an “auto-ignition” temperature: a temperature at which they will begin to /attempt/ to burn, even without an applied flame (this is in fact one of the ways matchsticks work). Without any oxygen, they’ll continue to attempt to auto-ignite until either they’re successful (because they found oxygen) or the temperature falls below the auto-ignition point. The former is far more likely because oxygen is present in a lot of things not limited to atmospheric air. Yes, materials at auto-ignition temperatures can *sometimes* ignite using the oxygen sequestered in solid or liquid matter. Not water, because it’s so tightly bound, but if the water is hot enough (due to the exposure to the heat), it’ll begin to break down into hydrogen and oxygen as it approaches the plasma phase transition, so it is *possible* (although very unlikely).
Latest Answers