Ask A Scientist Chemistry Archive

name         Tammy F.
status       educator
age          20s

Question -   Why exactly is the oil from an orange peel
flammable?  What is the composition of this orange oil?
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Tammy,

The oil contains a mixture of things like limonene, citral, and oily
terpenes. All are flammable organic compounds.

Regards,
ProfHoff 458
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The oil in orange peel is actually a rather complex mixture of volatile
organic compounds, that is why it is flammable. A typical composition
consists of:
about 90% d-limonene plus varying amounts of the compounds citral, decyl
aldehyde, methyl anthranilate, linalool, and terpineol. I found these in the
Merck Index. You can follow up to see if the newest edition gives more
details.

Vince Calder
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