Chemical Forums
Specialty Chemistry Forums => Citizen Chemist => Topic started by: kjohnson1 on August 16, 2019, 06:55:29 PM
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Location: Texas. Temperature 100+. I stored a sealed gallon of muratic acid outside on a piece of plywood. On that plywood I also had my pallet jack. I had recently serviced the pallet jack and spilled some R&O 100 hydraulic oil. Anyway I happened to be outside and heard a strange noise. When I investigated, I found a fire where the oil had soaked into the plywood. What reaction happened here?
Note: Yesterday around this time I smelled burning wood and looked around the entire outside of the house and in the garage. Perhaps this reaction started a day or more ago and today....resulted in fire.
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Welcome, kjohnson1!
Is the acid still sealed?
Hydrochloric acid could hydrolyse wood, but I don't see a path from this cold reaction to flames. With mineral oil, there should be no significant reaction.
Acid would make hydrogen in contact with metals, but hydrogen needs a seriously high temperature to light, like a spark.