Tornado Alley (PROG)

[fuagf]

On the believed greater volatility of Bakken crude, ooi, as i know zilch about it so this post and the questions.

Permit Shows Bakken Shale Oil in Casselton Train Explosion Contained High Levels of Volatile Chemicals
Wednesday, 08 January 2014 12:47 By Steve Horn, DeSmogBlog | Report

[...]

Benzene is a carcinogen, while toluene, xylene and hexane are dangerous
volatiles that can cause severe illnesses or even death at high levels of exposure.

[...]

"What I know from the testing I've done on my own — I went out to the Bakken oil fields and pumped oil from the
well — I know there are unprecedented levels of these explosive volatiles: benzene, toluene, xylene," said Smith.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/21091-exclusive-permit-shows-bakken-shale-oil-in-casselton-train-explosion-contained-high-levels-of-volatile-chemicals

then this one ..

Bakken Crude Pegged as More Dangerous Imperils Shale Boom
By Mark Drajem, Angela Greiling Keane and Lynn Doan Jan 4, 2014 8:43 AM ET

Bakken crude tends to be flammable because it contains a large fraction of volatile propane and butane, said
Zak Mortensen, business development manager for Inspectorate America Corp., which performs oil quality inspections.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-03/bakken-crude-more-dangerous-to-ship-than-other-oil-u-s-.html

.. lol, the fact they give different gases as the reason for Bakken crude's 'believed to be
more dangerous' nature doesn't help .. maybe it just suggests it's a bloody complicated field ..

This one has LFL and UFL limits at at 20C and atmospheric pressure .. LFLs ..

Gases - Explosive and Flammability Concentration Limits

.. gases mentioned above ..

Benzene 1.35%
n-Butane 1.86%
iso-Butane 1.8%
Hexane 1.1%
Hydrogen Sulphide 4.3%
Propane 2.1%
Toluene 1.27%
p-Xylene 1.0%
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/explosive-concentration-limits-d_423.html

which, i'm guessing means for any mix of gas in any crude (guess different mixes would be
a factor, too?), the lower the LFL the more potentially dangerous that gas in the mix could be?

PS: one thing as reported, the Bakken crude in the Buffet train in the Quebec derailment and explosion
was not properly labeled as to it's volatility level, even though the company knew it was more volatile.