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Q:
Vaseline is a mixture of paraffin and petroleum jelly. The latter is a byproduct in the petroleum industry. Is vaseline flammable, and if so, can it spontaneously ignite/combust?
- Marc (age 40)
Melbourne, Australia
A:
Yes it can, but it has a relatively high combustion temperature. It is very unlikely that it will spontaneously combust because it is not very volatile and its oxidation rate is very slow.
LeeH
(published on 09/30/2010)
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