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Abstract

The flammability of twelve (12) different alcoholic beverages was experimentally determined by means of flash point testing. The flash point of a liquid fuel is the temperature at which a pool of the substance produces enough flammable vapor to support a momentary flame that propagates over the surface of the pool when an external flame is introduced. The flame then subsequentially extinguishes due to the vapor being consumed. Similarly, the fire point is the temperature at which the pool sustains a flame for at least 5 s. The flash point and fire point of a fuel is dependent on the test method used for their determination. This study used the ASTM D92 method for an open-cup apparatus and the ASTM D3941 method for a closed-cup apparatus. Beers, wines, and liquors ranging from 5% to 94.5% alcohol by volume (%ABV) were tested. The goal of the selection was to supplement existing data on the flash point of alcoholic beverages and to determine if the type of alcohol (rum, vodka, wine, beer, etc.) or the derivative product (corn, sugar cane, potatoes, etc.) has an effect on the flash point or fire point of the liquid. It was concluded that %ABV is the most significant factor that influences flash or fire point when utilizing equivalent experimental test methods, and that the type of alcohol has no significant effect on ignition risk.

Details

Title
Experimental Determination of Flash Points and Fire Points of Alcoholic Beverages
Author
Sudbrook, Eric J. 1 ; Hussain, Nasir 1 ; Carpenter, Douglas J. 1 ; Olenick, Stephen M. 1 

1  Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc., Columbia, USA (GRID:grid.455340.3) (ISNI:0000 0004 0371 2249) 
Pages
2719-2732
Publication year
2023
Publication date
Sep 2023
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
ISSN
00152684
e-ISSN
15728099
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10694-023-01449-w
ProQuest document ID
2859755009
Copyright
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.