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Your statements do not seem to be consistent with those in the article. > Ray Mentzer, a chemical engineer at Purdue University, spent his career working on LN
by uep 6y ago
Your statements do not seem to be consistent with those in the article.
> Ray Mentzer, a chemical engineer at Purdue University, spent his career working on LNG projects for Exxon Mobil. He says the specially designed containers that transport hydrocarbons have a good safety record. But he says transporting the gas through densely populated areas increases the risk if there's a leak.
> "It's not flammable until it's vaporized, but it's going to be vaporized pretty darn quickly and then it's going to seek an ignition source," he says. "Believe me, it will find an ignition source pretty darn readily."
I will also note that those train tracks in the town in the photos had a derailment only a few years back. I am familiar with the area and know people who live there.
https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/train-derails-paulsboro-nj-releasing-23000-gallons-toxic-vinyl-chloride-gas.html https://response.restoration.noaa.gov/about/media/train-dera...
- jjk166 6y agoThere is no inconsistency. Natural gas is most certainly flammable once it's vaporized (it would be a very poor fuel if it wasn't), but there's a big difference between something being flammable and something being explosive. If you have a big leaking tank, it is very likely that it will catch fire, and no one really wants a big raging fire in a residential area, but that fire will only burn at the leak where fuel and air are mixing. It's very difficult out in the open to form cloud of natural gas and air with a uniform mixture such that it can all burn at the same time, and even then the flame front is too slow to cause a damaging explosion. I would also note that the engineer's use of informal language here is clearly alarmist.