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Posted (edited)

Someone in another forum made a comment about farts and how you could light one with a match & it would burn. This got me thinking so I looked into it and found some interesting things.

Chemical Composition of Farts

The exact chemical composition of human flatulence varies from one person to another, based on his or her biochemistry, the bacteria inhabiting the colon, and the foods that were eaten. If the gas results from ingesting air, the chemical composition will approximate that of air. If the fart arises from digestion or bacterial production, the chemistry may be more exotic. Farts consist primarily of nitrogen, the principal gas in air, along with a significant amount of carbon dioxide. A typical breakdown of the chemical composition of farts is:

  • Nitrogen: 20-90%

  • Hydrogen: 0-50% (flammable)

  • Carbon dioxide: 10-30%

  • Oxygen: 0-10%

  • Methane: 0-10% (flammable)

  • Human flatus may contain hydrogen gas and/or methane, which are flammable. If sufficient amounts of these gases are present, it's possible to light the fart on fire.

EXXON Mobile is spending millions to improve the yeast output of alcohol. I wish them the best in their ind-ever but I think they would have better results using the hundreds of thousands of sewer treatment plants, converting this waste into useful energy.

Anybody care to comment, pro or con--?

Edited by farsideofourmoon
took out a statement
Posted

What chemical gives farts their distinctive smell? I highly doubt that if I bought canisters of pure nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and methane, and then mixed them in the proportions you listed the mixture would have smell I would expect a fart to have. What chemical(s) make the smell?

Posted
39 minutes ago, drumbo said:

What chemical gives farts their distinctive smell? I highly doubt that if I bought canisters of pure nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and methane, and then mixed them in the proportions you listed the mixture would have smell I would expect a fart to have. What chemical(s) make the smell?

Ok this is pretty gross, and don't quote me on this, but isn't the smell due to small molecules of actual poo getting stuck up your nose?

Heard that 'fact' a few times now.

Posted
1 minute ago, Curious layman said:

Ok this is pretty gross, and don't quote me on this, but isn't the smell due to small molecules of actual poo getting stuck up your nose?

Heard that 'fact' a few times now.

This implies that poo is volatile.

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