General Question

Breefield's avatar

Will methane ignite in a closed pipe free of oxygen?

Asked by Breefield (2733points) April 5th, 2008

Watching Live Free Die Hard, where the methane station explodes.

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

3 Answers

shared3's avatar

I think oxygen is the only fuel that methane can use, but I could definetly be wrong. I’m no chemistry expert.

joeysefika's avatar

methane is CH4 which contains no oxygen so when burnt it has to be burnt in air with the reaction
CH4 + 2O2 → CO2 + 2H2O
as you can see methane and oxygen react to make carbon dioxide and water
a basic hydrocarbon reaction.
taken from wikipedia

Spargett's avatar

if you were to puncture the pipes, either by penetration with a foreign object or rupturing the pipe itself through internal pressure, you would be ultimately introducing oxygen.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.

This question is in the General Section. Responses must be helpful and on-topic.

Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther