Biofuel ignites during lab experiment

In Oklahoma, a chemical being dried in an oven during a biofuel lab experiment by an Oklahoma University student at Sarkeys Energy Center caught fire, making it the second biofuel fire this week reported by The Digest after a Logistec biofuel facility had wood pellets catch fire. The student placed chemical called tetrahydrofuran in an oven to dry and somehow caught fire, though neither the student nore the fire marshal was sure what caused it to ignite, other than a possibility of a notebook close to the hood of the oven.

The building was temporarily evacuated, no one was injured, and damage was contained to the oven, surrounding walls and a glass window that cracked from the high temperature. The chemical that the student was using for the experiment emits carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, so firefighters monitored carbon monoxide levels until they reached zero, according to OU Daily.