Ignition temperature of combustible liquids in mixtures of air with nitrous oxide

While ignition temperatures in the air are well known for a large number of flammable substances and to a lesser extent in pure oxygen too, no such values exist for ignition temperatures in nitrous oxide in spite of the fact that nitrous oxide is used as oxidizer in combustion processes or aerosol propellant in industry. The ignition temperatures of some pure compounds have now been investigated in oxidizer mixtures of nitrous oxide and air with varying concentration of nitrous oxide up to 80 vol% using a slightly modified standardized apparatus. The ignition temperature increases with increasing nitrous oxide concentration. Up to 580 degrees C, none of the investigated substances ignited in pure nitrous oxide.

Automated summary

While ignition temperatures of many flammable substances in air and pure oxygen are well known, there is a lack of data on ignition temperatures in nitrous oxide, despite its widespread use as an oxidizer. Recent experiments have shown that ignition temperatures in oxidizer mixtures containing nitrous oxide increase with higher nitrous oxide concentrations.