ES&H Manual

Flammable Gas Supplement

 

 

 

Chapter 6 – Flammability Limits

 

 

 

Table 1:  Fire Hazard Properties of Flammable Liquids, Gases, and Volatile Solid

NFPA Fire Protection Guide to Hazardous Materials, 13th Edition

 

Gas

Density at NTP

(kg/m3)

Flammability Limits

(percentage volume in air at NTP)

Hydrogen*

0.0824

4.0-75.0

Deuterium*

0.180

5.0-75.0

Methane

0.668

5.0-15.0

Acetylene*

1.174

2.5-100**

Ethane

1.26

3.0-12.5

Propane

1.87

2.1-9.5

Isobutane

2.49

1.8-8.4

Dimethyl Ether

1.95

3.4-27.0

*      Not expected to be routinely used in detectors because of its large flammability range, included for reference only.

**    Flammable limit is 82%, but can explode under pressure up to 100%.

 

Cylinders are generally specified as containing a given number of standard cubic feet (SCF).  The inventory may be estimated by using the above densities of the gas phase with the conversion 0.028 m3/ft3.

 

Revision Summary

 

Periodic Review – 05/06/16 – No changes per TPOC

Revision 1.0 – 06/15/11 – New content

 

 

 

ISSUING AUTHORITY

TECHNICAL POINT-OF-CONTACT

APPROVAL DATE

REVIEW DATE

REV.

 

 

Flammable Gas - Physics

Jack Segal

05/06/16

05/06/21

1.0

 

This document is controlled as an on line file.  It may be printed but the print copy is not a controlled document.  It is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the document is the same revision as the current on line file.  This copy was printed on 5/26/2016.