Safety Information About Flammable Solvents - Thermo Scientific Dionex UltiMate 3000 Series Operating Instructions Manual

UltiMate 3000 Series:
NCS-3500RS and NCP-3200RS

12.4 Safety Information about Flammable Solvents

The following table provides an overview of safety information for flammable solvents in
HPLC
Boiling point (°C)
Vapor pressure (hPa)
Flash point (°C)
Auto-ignition temperature (°C)
Explosion Limits (%)
The table is based on the following definitions and references.
Definitions
• The flash point is the lowest temperature at an atmospheric pressure of 1013 mbar at
which a liquid gives off enough vapors to ignite with an external ignition source when
mixing with the air above the liquid.[1]
• Substances whose flash point is below 38 °C are classified as flammable.[2]
• The auto-ignition temperature is the lowest temperature at which substances can self-
ignite at atmospheric pressure without an external ignition source, that is, without
external ignition by sparks or flames. The thermal energy required to reach the auto-
ignition temperature is created by a spontaneous chemical reaction or physical processes
in or on the surface of the combustible substances. The determination of the auto-ignition
temperature is imprecise and depends on the equipment and apparatus in use.
Nevertheless, it indicates the maximum permissible surface temperature of equipment
and apparatus when they are exposed to an air-vapor mixture of these substances. [1, 2]
The explosion limit are the upper and lower concentration limits of a mixture of a
•
flammable gas or vapor with air in which this mixture can explode when being heated or
by means of sparks.[1]
Tip: Volatile solvents are not necessarily flammable as well. For example,
chloroform is volatile but non-flammable.
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