3 ms·

FTA "These are high density polyethylene, used in milk and shampoo bottles; low density polyethylene, often used for bags for cerals or sandwiches; and polypro

FTA "These are high density polyethylene, used in milk and shampoo bottles; low density polyethylene, often used for bags for cerals or sandwiches; and polypropylene, used for ropes, flip-top lids and buckets." Are cereal bags, ropes, shampoo bottles and buckets highly flammable?

sn_master 6y ago
Yes? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004060319080167W https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004060... If you have a counter-source, please share it.
- josefresco 6y ago
  I don't, I was genuinely asking. It would seem like given it's popularity that would be an issue. But, crazier things have happened when it comes to consumer safety regulations. Anecdotally I've probably touched an open flame to synthetic rope, milk jugs and maybe a bucket or two in my life but can't say I've ever seen any of these items react in an uncontrolled or dangerous way.
  - mediaman 6y ago
    Sure, they're flammable. But the amount of BTUs in, say, packaging, is negligible, because it's so lightweight. When you combine lots of recycled packaging into dense bricks, it becomes a lot of dense BTUs, so can provide a lot of fuel to a fire.
  - _jal 6y ago
    Plastic fires are nasty. Aside from toxic fumes, plastic melts, So gravity will help it spread, if there's a way for it to do so. You're not going to cause a runaway with a lighter and a pop bottle without working at it. But, say, an electrical short in a closet with hanging synthetics can take off pretty quickly.
    - why_Mr_Anderson 6y ago
      And of top of that, burns from plastics are HORRIBLE, think napalm, but worse.
kaonwarb 6y ago
In a college engineering class we produced (in teams) rockets emitting mach-diamond exhaust consisting of nothing more than HDPE rods bored in specific patterns, supplied with pure oxygen, and ignited.
- rootusrootus 6y ago
  > supplied with pure oxygen That is key. A lot of things make a hell of a flame when you supply them with pure oxygen.
  - mikewarot 6y ago
    A thermic lance is a steel tube with pure oxygen fed down the bore. Here's how to make one out of a length of automotive brake line. https://youtu.be/EA-VCaBUsCA https://youtu.be/EA-VCaBUsCA

sn_master 6y ago

Yes? https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004060319080167W https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/004060... If you have a counter-source, please share it.

josefresco 6y ago
I don't, I was genuinely asking. It would seem like given it's popularity that would be an issue. But, crazier things have happened when it comes to consumer safety regulations. Anecdotally I've probably touched an open flame to synthetic rope, milk jugs and maybe a bucket or two in my life but can't say I've ever seen any of these items react in an uncontrolled or dangerous way.
- mediaman 6y ago
  Sure, they're flammable. But the amount of BTUs in, say, packaging, is negligible, because it's so lightweight. When you combine lots of recycled packaging into dense bricks, it becomes a lot of dense BTUs, so can provide a lot of fuel to a fire.
- _jal 6y ago
  Plastic fires are nasty. Aside from toxic fumes, plastic melts, So gravity will help it spread, if there's a way for it to do so. You're not going to cause a runaway with a lighter and a pop bottle without working at it. But, say, an electrical short in a closet with hanging synthetics can take off pretty quickly.
  - why_Mr_Anderson 6y ago
    And of top of that, burns from plastics are HORRIBLE, think napalm, but worse.

kaonwarb 6y ago

In a college engineering class we produced (in teams) rockets emitting mach-diamond exhaust consisting of nothing more than HDPE rods bored in specific patterns, supplied with pure oxygen, and ignited.

rootusrootus 6y ago
> supplied with pure oxygen That is key. A lot of things make a hell of a flame when you supply them with pure oxygen.
- mikewarot 6y ago
  A thermic lance is a steel tube with pure oxygen fed down the bore. Here's how to make one out of a length of automotive brake line. https://youtu.be/EA-VCaBUsCA https://youtu.be/EA-VCaBUsCA