Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
12:34
Experimental Procedure for Laboratory Studies of In Situ Burning : Flammability and Burning Efficiency of Crude Oil
Published on: May 1, 2018
Liquefied petroleum gas cold burn sustained while refueling a car
Bronwyn Scarr1, Biswadev Mitra, Amit Maini
1The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. bcscarr@gmail.com
Emergency Medicine Australasia : EMA
|February 16, 2010
Summary
Liquid petroleum gas (LPG) can cause cold burns, as seen in a case of hand injury during car refueling. Management principles are similar to frostbite, highlighting the need for awareness due to increasing LPG use.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Dermatology
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Cold burns from liquid petroleum gas (LPG) are rare but serious adverse events.
- Increasing use of LPG in vehicles necessitates understanding associated risks.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a case of cold burn from LPG exposure.
- To discuss the management and prevention of LPG-related cold injuries.
Main Methods:
- Case report of a young woman with partial thickness hand burns after LPG exposure.
- Review of LPG cold injury mechanisms and frostbite management principles.
Main Results:
- The patient sustained partial thickness burns to the dorsum of her hand due to cold injury from leaking LPG.
- Management was extrapolated from established frostbite treatment protocols.
Conclusions:
- Contact with leaking LPG can cause significant cold-related tissue damage.
- Awareness of prevention and management is crucial given the rising use of LPG.
Related Concept Videos
02:12Enthalpy and Heat of Reaction
Combustion, commonly known as burning, is a reaction in which a substance reacts with an oxidizing agent, which in most cases is molecular oxygen, to liberate energy in the form of heat, light, or sound. The heat of combustion is also known as the enthalpy of combustion. The energy released when one mole of a substance undergoes complete combustion at constant pressure is called molar heat of combustion. Combustion reactions are exothermic; that is, they release energy, and their ΔH sign...
02:14Combustion Energy: A Measure of Stability in Alkanes and Cycloalkanes
The low reactivity in alkanes can be attributed to the non-polar nature of C–C and C–H σ bonds. Alkanes, therefore, were initially termed as “paraffins,” derived from the Latin words: parum, meaning “too little,” and affinis, meaning “affinity.”
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and...
Alkanes undergo combustion in the presence of excess oxygen and high-temperature conditions to give carbon dioxide and water. A combustion reaction is the energy source in natural gas, liquified petroleum gas (LPG), fuel oil, gasoline, diesel fuel, and...
01:02Flame Photometry: Overview
Flame photometry, also known as flame emission spectrometry, is a technique used for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of elements present in a sample using a flame as the source of excitation energy. The concept of flame photometry was realized in the early 1860s by Kirchhoff and Bunsen, who discovered that specific elements emit characteristic radiation when excited in flames. The first instrument developed for this purpose was used to measure sodium (Na) in plant ash using a Bunsen...
01:20Internal Combustion Engine
The internal combustion engine is a heat engine that uses the byproducts of combustion as the working fluid instead of using a heat transfer medium to transfer heat. The combustion is done in a way that produces high-pressure combustion products that can be expanded through a turbine or piston to create work. Internal combustion engines can again be categorized into three kinds: (1) spark ignition gasoline engines, most commonly used in automobiles, (2) compression ignition diesel engines that...
02:26Molecular Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids
Particles in a solid are tightly packed together (fixed shape) and often arranged in a regular pattern; in a liquid, they are close together with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape); in a gas, they are far apart with no regular arrangement (no fixed shape). Particles in a solid vibrate about fixed positions (cannot flow) and do not generally move in relation to one another; in a liquid, they move past each other (can flow) but remain in essentially constant contact; in a gas, they move...
01:23The Joule and Joule–Thomson Experiments
Consider an adiabatic system composed of two chambers, A and B, designed such that no heat flows into or out of the system. Initially, chamber A is filled with a gas at a fixed temperature T1, pressure p1, and volume V1, while chamber B is evacuated. The gas is then gradually forced through a rigid, porous barrier to chamber B, ultimately reaching temperature T2, pressure p2, and volume V2. A piston on the right side maintains a constant pressure (p2), which is lower than p1. The significant...