Does oxygen as the only gas present create a hazardous (classified) atmosphere?

[rhallcroft]

We operate a fluid injection mining operation. Oxygen is piped to header houses where it is injected into the fluid, piped to wells, and into the down-hole formation.

Does the piped oxygen create a hazardous, (classified) atmosphere in the header houses? The voltages in the header houses is 480VAC & 120VAC.

 

[Fulthrotl]

We operate a fluid injection mining operation. Oxygen is piped to header houses where it is injected into the fluid, piped to wells, and into the down-hole formation.

Does the piped oxygen create a hazardous, (classified) atmosphere in the header houses? The voltages in the header houses is 480VAC & 120VAC.

pure oxygen burns quite well. oil and grease don't play well with it, either.

google Apollo I.

 

[gadfly56]

pure oxygen burns quite well. oil and grease don't play well with it, either.

google Apollo I.

Oxygen doesn't burn at all. It's, well, the "oxi"dizer. You need a fuel. If you struck an electric arc in a room full of 100% oxygen, nothing would happen. The fact is, however, that if a room does get filled with O2 it usually contains all kinds of things that will burn with great gusto, and some (eg certain metals) that will burn with frightening intensity that might not ignite at all, or self-extinguish, in air. Now Google Apollo 1.

 

[iwire]

pure oxygen burns quite well. oil and grease don't play well with it, either.

google Apollo I.

No oxygen does not burn it just makes other objects that do burn ... burn very well.

It was all the other stuff in Apollo that burned up in the oxygen filled capsule

 

[Carultch]

No oxygen does not burn it just makes other objects that do burn ... burn very well.

It was all the other stuff in Apollo that burned up in the oxygen filled capsule

Air is less of an oxidizer than pure oxygen, because the majority gas in air is Nitrogen. Elemental Nitrogen is very close to an inert gas, and behaves as a "thermal load" on the ignition process, which reduces the flame temperature and slows down combustion.

 

[iwire]

Air is less of an oxidizer than pure oxygen, because the majority gas in air is Nitrogen. Elemental Nitrogen is very close to an inert gas, and behaves as a "thermal load" on the ignition process, which reduces the flame temperature and slows down combustion.

Yep, oxygen runs about 20% of the air we breathe.

 

[rbalex]

It's too bad NFPA 50 is no longer readily available. It has not exactly been withdrawn but has not been updated nor reaffirmed since 2001. I no longer have access to it but it had an excellent discussion about the effects of oxygen in bulk usage.

For most practical purposes NFPA 50 has been more or less replaced by NFPA 53. It is neither a Code nor even a Standard but a Recommended Practice. It still has some discussion in the Annexes about the effects of oxygen enriched processes. It has excellent recommendations about equipment and especially use of particular materials in oxygen enriched atmospheres. The actual body of text is not too long(it isn't NEC sized) and it is worth the review.

 

[Rampage_Rick]

Oxygen doesn't burn at all. It's, well, the "oxi"dizer. You need a fuel. If you struck an electric arc in a room full of 100% oxygen, nothing would happen. The fact is, however, that if a room does get filled with O2 it usually contains all kinds of things that will burn with great gusto, and some (eg certain metals) that will burn with frightening intensity that might not ignite at all, or self-extinguish, in air. Now Google Apollo 1.

One of the things I remember from From the Earth to the Moon is that in a pure oxygen environment Velcro doesn't so much burn as explode, and that there was 34 square feet of it inside the capsule.

 

[Sierrasparky]

One of the things I remember from From the Earth to the Moon is that in a pure oxygen environment Velcro doesn't so much burn as explode, and that there was 34 square feet of it inside the capsule.

Not only the Velcro but all the other flammable items like the wood composites that made up much of the structural components. The vinyl and plastics too.

 

[mgookin]

One of the things I remember from From the Earth to the Moon is that in a pure oxygen environment Velcro doesn't so much burn as explode, and that there was 34 square feet of it inside the capsule.

When I attended the United States Fire Administration's National Fire Academy (2 week resident course) we spent considerable time on textiles to my surprise.

Velcro is hook & loop. It has tremendous surface area and it is a textile. Put that in an O2 rich environment with too much heat and I'd imagine you're going to see very rapid flamespread. It might be so fast that the perception is an explosion, but I don't think there would be any actual detonation; just a nasty fire you don't want to deal with.

To the OP: I don't see where anyone has clearly answered your question, and it's a good question. I'm going to recommend that unless or until there is convincing information presented to the contrary, that you go ahead and consider the subject area a classified area. Better to get it wrong on the side that provides the greatest level of safety than to err in the other direction.

 

[Tonybrzez]

Care to explain this?

Care to explain this?

pure oxygen burns quite well.

google Apollo I.

A few others have chimed in so I'm sure your a working professional and very knowledgeable on chemicals so I can't wait for an explanation as to just exactly "Oxygen burns". Please explain this to me as I'm sure you can prove this. and I think I will interrupt my very busy schedule and call the committee in Sweden and get this entered for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. I must have been taught wrong that Oxygen is an accelerant.

So the answer is what? Is Oxygen flammable or not, yes or no?

 

[Carultch]

A few others have chimed in so I'm sure your a working professional and very knowledgeable on chemicals so I can't wait for an explanation as to just exactly "Oxygen burns". Please explain this to me as I'm sure you can prove this. and I think I will interrupt my very busy schedule and call the committee in Sweden and get this entered for a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. I must have been taught wrong that Oxygen is an accelerant.

So the answer is what? Is Oxygen flammable or not, yes or no?

Oxygen is not independently flammable. Just like most fuels are not independently flammable, but are flammable with the presence of oxygen that is ordinarily present.

Both an oxidizer and a fuel must be present for a mix of reactants to be flammable. Some fuels are independently flammable as they contain both ingredients, like gunpowder and rocket fuel, which can burn in a vacuum.