why do rags soaked in oil-based chemicals spontaneously catch on fire without being exposed to a flame?
In: Chemistry
Oil when exposed to air will begin to decompose into different chemicals. This decomposition releases heat. If that heat is contained by a bin or a large pile of rags, it can become enough to ignite. It is helped along by the fact that many oils are flammable in and if themselves and as their vapor builds up around the rags it can be ignited at a lower temperature than the rag itself.
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