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Safety Advice.

10 – Handling of Acetylene.

1. Preliminary remarks • To prevent significant quantities of and water. This decomposition reaction
acetylene from leaking into ambient can occur explosively and can have a con-
Acetylene has particular properties which air, acetylene systems must be leak- siderable destructive effect.
make this gas practically irreplaceable for proof from the cylinder connection to
oxyfuel gas welding and cutting. These the torch. Any leaks that occur must be
properties are also significant in terms of repaired immediately. Acetylene hoses
safety, and must be taken into account must meet the requirements of DIN EN
when working with acetylene in order to 559. Connections meeting DIN EN 560
prevent accidents. must be used to connect hoses to one
another and to equipment. Protect the C 2H2 molecule
This Safety Advice describes the properties hoses from damage, and replace them
of acetylene that are relevant to safety, at appropriate intervals. Close acetylene The higher the pressure and temperature
and provide practical hints for working cylinder valves during work breaks. of the gas, the more readily acetylene
safely with this gas. decomposes. Acetylene decompositi-
• Before lighting a torch, any air present in on is unlikely to occur, however, within
These instructions supplement, but do not the acetylene hose must be purged with an acetylene cylinder, since its volume
replace, mandatory stipulations such as acetylene to prevent the formation and is completely filled with a solid porous
the Acetylene Code and relevant Technical ignition of an acetylene / air mixture in mass whose pores contain the acetylene,
Rules for Acetylene Equipment (TRAC). the hose. dissolved in acetone. This safety system
is effective only if the quantitative ratio
2. Chemical Properties • With a few exceptions, single-cylinder between the dissolved acetylene and the
acetylene systems must be equipped acetone solvent does not exceed certain
Explosion hazard: with a hose check valve fitted to the limits. Acetylene cylinders should therefore
Do not allow uncontrolled mixing of ace- torch, which blocks the flow of oxy- be filled with gas only after the acetone
tylene and air or oxygen gen into the acetylene hose and thus content has been checked and topped up if
prevents the formation of an acetylene / necessary. Transferring acetylene from one
Acetylene combines with air or oxygen to oxygen misture in the hose. Also a flash- cylinder to another is therefore prohibited.
form an explosive mixture that can be igni- back arrestor should be installed directly
ted by a spark or the like, and can cause a on the acetylene cylinder regulator, Despite the presence of this safety system,
serious Explosion. preventing flame propagation into the under unfavourable conditions a decom-
acetylene cylinder. position reaction can occur inside the cy-
To eliminate this hazard, take the following linder. To eliminate this hazard, acetylene
safety precautions: • A single-cylinder oxygen arrestor should cylinders must be protected from excessive
be installed in the oxygen hose just be- heat. Although acetylene cylinders can
fore the torch, to prevent acetylene from withstand long periods of exposure to in-
entering the oxygen hose at low oxygen tense sunlight, direct contact with a flame
pressure. can be hazardous. Welding, and use of any
other kind of flame, are therefore probi-
Decomposes easily bited within 1 meter of a single-cylinder
Protect acetylene cylinders from fire acetylene system. For acetylene cylinder
Do not transfer acetylene batteries containing up to six acetylene cy-
linders (called ”small systems”) this radius
Each acetylene molecule is held together is 3 meters; for batteries with more than
by a ”triple bond” that can break under the six acetylene cylinder it is 5 meters. Wel-
action of heat or extreme pressure. This ding torches and hoses must not e hung on
causes the acetylene molecules to decom- the acetylene cylinders. Stationary battery
Flammable substance warning pose into their components: carbon (soot) systems with more than six acetylene

Safety Advice. 10 – Handling of Acetylene. Page 1


lene cylinders must be vertical while gas the supply hose is connected, the safety
is flowing, or must be placed with the bundle connector must be purged with
cylinder valve at least 40 cm higher than acetylene by briefly opening the ball valve,
the cylinder base. This precaution can be to eliminate any air in the hose. If this is
ignored for cylinders having a ”high-poro- not done, an acetylene / air mixture can be
sity” mass, indicated by a red ring around produced in the supply hose; this mixture
the cylinder neck. is even more sensitive to impact than pure
acetylene.
Relative density
Provide high-level vent openings Acetylene cylinder bundles with 13 cy-
linders (model 59) do not have a central
Acetylene has a relative density of about shutoff device. With these acetylene cylin-
0.9, meaning that it is aobut 10% lighter der bundles, purge the collector line inside
than air. When unconfined, acetylene the bundle before making connections, to
therefore migrats upward. Working areas remove the air inside.
in which acetylene is being used must be
vented at the upper part of the space to Carefully follow the operating instructions
cylinders must not be installed in the room prevent a dangerous build-up of acety- provided on every Linde acetylene cylinder
in which welding is taking place. If a fire lene in the ambient air in the event of bundle and on the regulator station. Note
breaks out in the immediate vicinity of leaks. However, this provision is effective the sequence in which the specific opera-
acetylene cylinders, remove them from the only if a forced air flow is not moving the ting steps are to be performed.
threatened area if possible, or cool them acetylene in the other direction. Instead of
intensively with water. relying solely on this natural ventilation, 4. Physiological Properties
everything possible should therefore be
Acetylene utilisation devices are not done to prevent leaks in the acetylene Do not inhale acetylene in concentrated
protected against acetylene decomposition system. form
in the same way as the cylinder. Acetylene
must therefore be withdrawn from the cy- Heat of compression Acetylene is nontoxic, i.e. inhalation of
linder only through an acetylene cylinder Follow operating Instructions for the acetylene does not damage the human
regulator, which limits pressure in the hose acetylene cylinder bundle body. Nevertheless, acetylene should not
to a maximum of 1,5 bar above atmos- be inhaled in concentrated form since the
pheric. Regulators for acetylene cylinders Like almost all gases, acetylene heats up gas has a narcotic effect. (Pure acetylene
must be approved by model, and bear an when it is compressed. If compression – known as ”narcylene” – was once used
approval label (such as 01D – D 52172). occurs as a ”pressure surge”, i.e. very in medicine as a narcotic agent.) Acetyle-
quickly, the heat that is released cannot ne has a suffocating effect on humans. If
Formation of acetylides be immediately dispersed to the environ- more than 20 vol% acetylene is present
Use steel for acetylene systems ment, but remains in the compressed gas. in the lungs, the mixture then contains
Acetylene that is suddenly compressed less than 17 vol.% oxygen and insufficient
Under certain conditions, acetylene can from 1 to 20 bar can reach temperatures oxygen is present, creating the possibility
combine with copper or silver to form of 250 – 300°C, which under unfavourable of suffocation.
acetylides. These compounds have ex- conditions can trigger acetylene decom-
plosive characteristics, and can explode position. 5. Asbestos Hazards?
if exposed to heat or mechanical energy.
The explosive reaction of these acetylides Safety measures are not required
can of course trigger acetylene decompo-
sition. Therefore, copper or copper alloys The high-porosity mass in acetylene
containing more than 70% copper, and cylinders contains a small proportion of
silver or silver alloys, must not be used for asbestos, which is permanently enclosed
acetylene systems. Exceptions are made and remains in the cylinder even gas is wi-
for precisely defined silver solders. The thdrawn. Measurements of the supply flow
preferred material for acetylene systems from acetylene cylinders have indicated
is steel. unequivocally that the emerging acetylene
is completely asbestos-free. Using acety-
3. Physical Characteristics lene cylinders with asbestos containing
porous fillings does not constitute an
Physical state asbestos hazard.
Use acetylene cylinders in the vertical
position 6. Conclusions
Acetylene cylinder bundles require parti-
As already mentioned, acetylene is disol- cular attention in this regard. Acetylene Ask Linde Service
ved in acetone inside the cylinder. When cylinder bundles with 6 or 16 acetylene
the cylinder valve is opened, acetylene in cylinders (model 46 or 61) use a ball valve Acetylene has specific properties that are
gaseous form flows out, just like carbon as the central shutoff device. This valve neither good nor bad. The only important
dioxide when a bottle of carbonated water must always be actuated slowly; sudden thing is to understand those properties and
is opened. To prevent flammable acetone opening can cause hazardous heating due utilise them safely. Our gas applications
from emerging from the cylinder, acety- to the pressure surge. In addition, before engineers can tell you how to do that.

Linde AG
Linde Gas Division, Linde Gas Germany, Seitnerstraße 70, 82049 Pullach
Phone 018 03.85 000-0*, Fax 018 03.85 000-1, www.linde-gas.com

Safety Advice. 10 – Handling of Acetylene. Page 2

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