Why is oxygen flammable

After nitrogen, the most abundant gas in our air is oxygen. Here's where it gets complicated: Oxygen is also not flammable, but it is a high-energy gas that very readily oxidizes other materials. For something to burn, the reaction requires a fuel the thing that burns and an oxidizer like oxygen. Without the fuel, though, no combustion will take place no matter how high the concentration of oxygen is. Since air itself is not flammable, it is not a fuel and will not combust, spontaneously or otherwise.

The danger we often hear about with high oxygen levels is that other materials that are not combustible or only very slightly combustible under normal conditions, and therefore not a danger, can become very combustible and hazardous when oxygen levels are high. Heat allows fire to spread by drying out and preheating nearby fuel and warming surrounding air. Fuel is any kind of combustible material.

The moisture content determines how easily it will burn. Air contains about 21 percent oxygen, and most fires require at least 16 percent oxygen content to burn. Oxygen supports the chemical processes that occur during fire. When fuel burns, it reacts with oxygen from the surrounding air, releasing heat and generating combustion products gases, smoke, embers, etc.

Fire is the result of a process called combustion. In this process, an oxidizer, such as oxygen, combines with a fuel, such as wood or paper, when it is heated to a certain ignition temperature. As the fuel reacts with the oxidizer, the molecules get excited and break apart. The molecules then recombine to form new combustion products, such as carbon dioxide, and release energy, which people perceive primarily as light and heat. The combination of an oxidizer, fuel and heat is sometimes called the fire triangle, and as long as the fire has these three things, it will continue to burn.

An oxidizing agent, also called an oxidizer or oxidant, can either be a chemical compound that easily gives away its oxygen atoms or a substance that takes on electrons.

Oxygen is the former variety, as are ozone and hydrogen peroxide, but any oxidizing agent can support combustion, even if no oxygen is present. While these materials are not combustible themselves, they are still very dangerous because they make other substances burn faster and more readily.

A spill of LOx onto an asphalt parking lot could lead to a disaster. In a number of ways, it could be ignited very quickly and cause a large fire. The good news is that the LOx is not initially a respiration problem, but the fire is. As we know, O2 is not flammable, but it makes fire burn more furiously. Obviously, we are not looking for new ways to lose control of a fire. The secondary containment storage area is a welcome safety feature, but it can still spill over and come into contact with a variety of organic materials.

Here is the shortlist of hazards to keep away from loose LOx:. LOx cannot survive for long in a normal living atmosphere due to its rapid evaporation rate, but it can do a lot of damage in the process. During a spill incident of LOx, cars can run through the area providing heat, sparks, oil, grease, and tires.

Any number of occurrences can cause a fire in that case, and fire will subsequently seek to combine with a boost of available oxygen. Also read: Is Argon Flammable? What You Should Know. Burning vs. Is Smoke Flammable? You May Be Surprised…. How Hot Does it Get? Is Helium Gas Flammable? Can it Explode?