Burning Steel as Firewood 2

[raywood]

On Planet FeC, residents commonly burn naturally occurring steel ingots as what we would call firewood. As with actual firewood on Earth, these ingots vary in fireworthiness: a large, "green" chunk can be hard to burn, while "dry kindling" makes a nice, crackling fire.

Granting those variations in materials, what are the most likely ambient conditions, or what are the most likely ranges of ambient conditions, on Planet FeC?

 

[SwinnyGG]

You can burn iron on earth.

 

[MintJulep]

I guess it's hot, and has a lot of Oxygen in the atmosphere.

 

[TugboatEng]

The smoke is orange...

 

[geesaman.d]

I guess it's hot, and has a lot of Oxygen in the atmosphere.

Or the residents and their steel 'ingots' are very very small.

 

[Compositepro]

With wood green vs. dry refers to water content, which has tremendous impact on how well the wood burns. Water in wood cools the wood exposed to fire making it more difficult ignite. The escaping steam also displaces oxygen from the wood surface. This is not relevant to a steel log.

To get an steel ingot to burn like a wood log only requires a high enough temperature and oxygen concentration. Steel will burn in air at a high enough temperature. To sustain the fire requires that the heat output of the fire exceeds the heat losses from the fire. A well insulated oven chamber with air supply that is preheated by exhaust gases, can do this.

What makes steel appear to be fireproof is that it does not oxidize rapidly until about 1500F, and that its high thermal conductivity compared to wood means that the whole ingot must get hot before burning.

 

[EdStainless]

Iron powder or sponge will burn fairly easily.
The last time I saw a solid piece of iron burning it was sitting in a pool of LOX.

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P.E. Metallurgy, consulting work welcomed

 

[3DDave]

How about fluorine atmosphere? Sure, at normal pressure and temp it causes steel to burst into flames, but maybe at lower pressure it might require a nudge. Work quick because the matches won't last long after they are started.

 

[MintJulep]

Steel wool is a reliable firestarter, even on earth.

You can ignite it with a spark from a flint, a lighter or a battery.

 

[WKTaylor]

Every welder will tell You that welding carries one extreme risk that has to be avoided at all costs: melted-metal-vapor... now consider this on a far grander scale...

Living organisms that intake air can inhale metal vapors... and then there is the obvious environmental coating-out on compatible surfaces... and pollution of the environment by solidified metal vapors.

What a nightmare.

Regards, Wil Taylor
o Trust - But Verify!
o For those who believe, no proof is required; for those who cannot believe, no proof is possible. [variation, Stuart Chase]
o Unfortunately, in science what You 'believe' is irrelevant. ["Orion", HBA forum]
o Only fools and charlatans know everything and understand everything." -Anton Chekhov

 

[tommy9999]

raywood didn't specify the engineering problem he wants to solve, and that would have helped.

Then again, he didn't really specify the planet he's living in either.

 

[telecomguy]

I picture Planet FeC having a significant electrical potential, where iron provides a high resistance path to ground. Thus there would be lots of pretty sparks and molten slag flying. Best to wear a welding helmet while watching this fire burn.

<tg>

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