Especially for chemists

[Theodoric]

According to this link
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/w...ds/4585714.stm
20 tons of resorcinol are ablaze. The local fire brigade say that the cloud produced by the fire contains elements of sulphur and nitrogen. But where does the sulphur and nitrogen come from? Resorcinol is m-dihydroxybenzene and contains only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. OK, one method of making it is by alkali fusion of sodium m-benzenedisulphonate, which could explain the sulphur, but where does the nitrogen come from?

And I am surprised that, just for once, the name of the chemical is actually given. Normally all we get is that a fire has occurred at a chemical factory with essentially zero information as to what has caught fire.

[nffc]

Firstly it'd probably mean compounds.

Sulfur is a common impurity in organic assays - such as extracts from fossil fuels which would then oxidise or add into combustion products- they may use sulfur-containing reagents as part of the synthesis...

Nitrogen is easy, that will come from the air, or again from a reagent or by-product in the synthesis.

Just because the end product doesn't contain N or S then that doesn't mean that either is not used at the plant - and of course when an incident like this occurs, it's the feedstock and everything else that explodes.

And incidentally, S and N oxides are produced in burning of fossil fuels and it's not likely that alkanes - hydrocarbons - used in petrols etc will contain that unless it's an impurity.

[Xaccers]

The company makes non-stick coatings and uses about 30 chemicals in the process.

Perhaps some of those 30 chemicals (now does it mean compounds, elements, what exactly?) contain the sulphur and nitrogen?
Or from the building itself, or the chemicals used to douse the flames (assuming they're using a foam rather than water)

[Theodoric]

Originally Posted by nffc

Firstly it'd probably mean compounds.

Sulfur is a common impurity in organic assays - such as extracts from fossil fuels which would then oxidise or add into combustion products- they may use sulfur-containing reagents as part of the synthesis...

Nitrogen is easy, that will come from the air, or again from a reagent or by-product in the synthesis.

Just because the end product doesn't contain N or S then that doesn't mean that either is not used at the plant - and of course when an incident like this occurs, it's the feedstock and everything else that explodes.

And incidentally, S and N oxides are produced in burning of fossil fuels and it's not likely that alkanes - hydrocarbons - used in petrols etc will contain that unless it's an impurity.

I should have been more precise. I assumed that by "elements of" they meant "containing", that is, as you say, compounds.

[fireman328]

They only let me put them out, I wasn't allowed to analyse the effects until the enquiry was under way, then it was all my fault.