Detergent+ fuel... Does anybody here smart enough to explain this?

haramotozero said:

Detergent+ fuel... Does anybody here smart enough to explain this?

slippery floor + third turret

Siriy said:

slippery floor + third turret

Well, that's one way, or I just an idiot thinking that those 2 chemical could turn into an explosive...

A detergent would break down oil so it can be washed away. Detergents in themselves rarely have explosive qualities.

Although, ironically, detergents often have petrol * as an ingredient, which is a lighter fuel made from that very same fuel oil. Fuel oil/petrol etc. are not commonly explosive, but the fumes rising when confined or heated can be.

And of course they can be fire accelerants anyway, which is why they need breaking down chemically.

.

• = American gasoline.

if combined properly, it could make something like napalm.

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A year overdue, but...

Claverhouse said:

A detergent would break down oil so it can be washed away. Detergents in themselves rarely have explosive qualities.

Although, ironically, detergents often have petrol * as an ingredient, which is a lighter fuel made from that very same fuel oil. Fuel oil/petrol etc. are not commonly explosive, but the fumes rising when confined or heated can be.

And of course they can be fire accelerants anyway, which is why they need breaking down chemically.

.

• = American gasoline.

Strictly speaking, detergents do not break down oil chemically. They emulsify oil (in the presence of an aqueous medium), allowing them to be mixed up with water and washed off. In the case of oil spills, emulsifying oils also (in theory) helps microbes to break down oils, due to the greater surface area available and access to oxygen (actual results vary and can have unintended consequences, as seen in the aftermath of the BP oil spill disaster).

Detergents are often made from petrochemical feedstocks, but they do not have petrol as an ingredient (as in, there is no petrol or crude oil anywhere in a bottle of detergent, similar to the absence of coal and iron ore in a knife or sand in a glass pane — the substances have been transformed chemically). They are also not made from petrol anyway — the usual feedstock is kerosene, a heavier fraction. The process of making detergent changes the chemical properties of the petrochemicals, with most of them ending up being nonflammable due to how bulky their molecules end up (the introduction of heteroatoms also impedes burning). As such, most common industrial detergents end up with flammability rating of 0 (they can burn and have a fuel value, but they take so much effort to start and maintain burning that they are not considered fire hazards. Some can even be used as flame retardants), with SDS being a notable exception.

Speaking of which, petrol is usually not made from fuel oil (well, you can, but this is generally less economical). Petrol and fuel oil are both fractions of crude oil, separated using fractional distillation. Kerosene lies somewhere in between the two. Petrol consists of lighter (shorter chain/lower molecular weight) molecules, so it's far more volatile and burns easier. Petrol fumes are a fire and explosion hazard, as you noted. Fuel oil (and diesel) are also fire hazards (they can burn if a flame is applied for an extended period of time, and more easily if wicked), but they rarely produce enough vapors to burn or explode, due to their elevated flash points (usually >60 degrees C, compared to petrol with a flash point of -43 degrees C, so they need extended heating to produce enough vapor).

haramotozero said:

Detergent+ fuel... Does anybody here smart enough to explain this?

haramotozero said:

Well, that's one way, or I just an idiot thinking that those 2 chemical could turn into an explosive...

Detergent + fuel, no. The original Japanese uses 洗剤 though, which is usually translated as detergent, but can also refer to any cleaning product including bleach(hypochlorite)-based ones. Hypochlorite is a potent oxidizer, and in the absence of water (which absorbs heat and interferes with mixing with oils) it can start fires when mixed with other fuels (oils, sawdust, even toenail clippings. The solids need a spark or some heat). The usual way this happens by accident is when someone stores both pool chlorine (calcium hypochlorite powder/tablets) and brake fluid (particularly nasty because it's susceptible to chain-reaction oxidation) in their garage and accidentally spills the fluid over the 'chlorine' with spectacular results (not quite an explosion, but you get a fireball and long-lasting flames everywhere).

Liquid hypochlorite solutions won't work though — too much water (heck, some people pour bleach into the gas tank of cars as prank/sabotage, but while it does destroy the engine it doesn't cause a fire or explosion). It will, however, produce lots of noxious fumes (including chloroform) which miiiight be explosive under the right conditions and if the stars align (which is to say, VERY VERY unlikely).

That's probably how this art started off — "don't mix solvents with cleaners." Actually triggering an explosion or fire is practically impossible (unless solid oxidizing cleaning powders are used), but it's still a bad idea nonetheless.

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