Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Exploding aircons and fridges, really ?

metalresearcher - 10-11-2023 at 10:10

Youtuber NOBOX7 posted a video about aircons which have cyclopentane as a refrigerant, which is flammable gas.
https://youtu.be/F8IIpF0W128
The world's largest online chemistry textbook mentions Cyclopentane requires safety precautions to prevent leakage and ignition when used as a refrigerant as it is highly flammable. for this substance. According to Nobox7, it decomposes above 600 F (330 C) to hydrogen and acetylene, which can be a hazard. If this were true, safety requirements would prohibit the use of cyclopentate as a refrigerant.

Is this really true ?

Rainwater - 10-11-2023 at 11:02

Propane, butane, methane.
Any substance that can go from a liquid to a gas, with pressure change can be used as a refrigerant.
Keep the O2 out and there is no change of conbustion.

SplendidAcylation - 11-11-2023 at 02:42

This guy is crazy!

For one thing, he refers to cyclopentadiene instead of cyclopentane when discussing the thermal decomposition of the latter:

wrong.png - 371kB

Anyway, no, I don't think its true.

Although, as Rainwater says, cyclopentane could be used as a refrigerant, I don't believe it is, not commonly, at least.

I too saw a fridge dumped somewhere recently with a big sticker on the back that said "CYCLOPENTANE", and I got quite excited, thinking I could cut the pipes and collect some cyclopentane in a bottle.

However, further research revealed that the refrigerant (R600A, the guy in the video says it himself) is isobutane, and the cyclopentane is used as a blowing agent in the insulating foam that surrounds the fridge.

So I guess the foam is flammable, but the cyclopentane is not used as the refrigerant.

metalresearcher - 11-11-2023 at 04:39

Quote: Originally posted by SplendidAcylation  
This guy is crazy!
[snip]
However, further research revealed that the refrigerant (R600A, the guy in the video says it himself) is isobutane, and the cyclopentane is used as a blowing agent in the insulating foam that surrounds the fridge.

So I guess the foam is flammable, but the cyclopentane is not used as the refrigerant.

Possibly that he means this: the flammability of the insulation foam (if any C5H10 is still present in the bubbles).