Is oil flammable? Does it pose any danger to household members using it? Well, for any substance to be flammable, it needs to have the potential to store energy in its chemical bonds. Oil on its own has carbon-containing compounds and thus has stored chemical energy.
When oil burns, it emits certain elements such as carbon dioxide, which does not burn. As such, oil is not a flammable liquid because it does do have enough vapors to catch fire at temperatures below 60°C. What people need to note is that the oil products do not burn, but rather the gas that comes off from this oil product is what burns. Click here for the Best-Selling Fire Safety Products.
Facts about flammable and combustible products
According to NFPA and OSHA, there is a difference between a flammable and combustible liquid. Combustible liquids have a flashpoint of 100°F when you use the close-cup method. However, a flammable liquid has a flashpoint that does not exceed 100°F when you use the same process. Both flammable and combustible liquids will catch fire easily and will burn quickly.
The flashpoint of a material determines the flammability. The flashpoint represents the minimum temperature in which a liquid forms vapor on its surface at a level it can easily ignite. It is the vapor given off that burns but not the oil product. The vapor pressure will determine the rate at which any liquid produces flammable gases.
It is important to note that as the temperature increases, the vaporization rate will also increase. Thus, the oil will burn at elevated room temperatures but not at room temperature. Silicon is non- flammable, and are majorly used as lubricants or hydraulic fluids.
Types of oils
Various kinds of oil differ from each other depending on the toxicity, volatility, and viscosity. The volatility means the rate at which oil evaporates into the air, while the viscosity is the oil’s resistance to flow. The toxicity level refers to the level of poison the oil contains. Several types include:
- Non-persistent light oils
- Persistent light oils
- Medium oils
- Heavy oils
- Sinking oils
Are cooking oils flammable?
If you are not careful with cooking oils, you can easily cause a fire accident because it is highly flammable. Oils have different flash and smoke points. As mentioned above, the flashpoint represents the temperature at which oil burns to create flammable vapors that can cause a fire near a heat source. The flashpoint for cooking oils is at 600°F.
On the other hand, the smoke point is when oil starts to smoke after it becomes too hot, and it is essential to remove the oil from the heating surface immediately.
Soybean oil, safflower oil, and peanut oil have smoke points of 450°F, while grapeseed oil has 445°F. Sunflower oil has a smoke point of 390°F; corn oil has 410°F, while canola oil has 410°F.
How to prevent fire accidents
Some common precaution points include:
- Make sure that the oil containers are in great shape, are closed, and labeled.
- It would help if you used flammable and combustible liquids in a fume hood to prevent the building up of any vapor or air mixtures that will cause fire accidents.
- Do not place any ignition sources such as sparking equipment, any smoking materials, or flames near oil products.
- It would help if you implemented other safety precautions when heating flammable and combustible liquids above their flashpoints.
Conclusion
Although oil is less likely to cause fire, you need to take precautions to ensure that it does not reach its flash and smoke point and, in the process, create a fire.