Ethane material factor

Vapor Cloud Explosions. Lenoir and Davenport (Ref. 16) have summarized some major VCEs worldwide from 1921 to 1991. The materials involved in these incidents suggest that certain hydrocarbons—such as ethane, ethylene, propane, and butane—demonstrate greater potential for VCEs. Several factors may contribute to these statistics. These materials are prevalent in industry and are often handled in large quantities, increasing the potential for an incident. Certain inherent properties of the materials also contribute to their potential for explosion. These include flammability, reactivity, vapor pressure, and vapor density (with respect to air). 

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