A Review of Estimation Methods for Flash Points and Flammability Limits

摘要

In general, most of the methods available to estimate flash points or flammability limits are based on Le Chatelier's equation. Unfortunately, this equation may not provide accurate estimates for mixtures at elevated temperatures and pressures and for mixtures containing fuels such as ether in which cool flames can occur. Some of the methods available require the knowledge of the flash point of each constituent in the mixture. This could lead to erroneous estimation because when the flash point is listed in literature, the reference source of the information is not often provided, leading to uncertainty. Other methods based on empirical correlations have demonstrated that there exist close relationships between the flash and the boiling point temperatures. However, these methods are valid only at the conditions at which the correlations were developed. It is necessary to couple the phenomena of equilibrium thermodynamics of vaporization with those of chemical kinetics of oxidation underlying the lean limit.