An Elementary Study of Chemistry, William McPherson [icecream ebook reader txt] 📗
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If the gas is diluted with a non-combustible gas, the effect is the same as if it is rarefied, for under these conditions there is less combustible gas in a given volume.
3. Temperature. The luminosity also depends upon the temperature attained in the combustion. In general the hotter the flame the greater the luminosity; hence cooling the gases before combustion diminishes the luminosity of the flame they will make, because it diminishes the temperature attained in the combustion. Thus the luminosity of the Bunsen flame is largely diminished by the air drawn up with the gas. This is due in part to the fact that the burning gas is diluted and cooled by the air drawn in. The oxygen thus introduced into the flame also causes the combustion of the hot particles of carbon which would otherwise tend to make the flame luminous.
Illuminating and fuel gases. A number of mixtures of combustible gases, consisting largely of carbon compounds and hydrogen, find extensive use for the production of light and heat. The three chief varieties are coal gas, water gas, and natural gas. The use of acetylene gas has already been referred to.
Coal gas. Coal gas is made by heating bituminous coal in large retorts out of contact with the air. Soft or bituminous coal contains, in addition to large amounts of carbon, considerable quantities of compounds of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulphur. When distilled the nitrogen is liberated partly in the form of ammonia and cyanides and partly as free nitrogen gas; the sulphur is converted into hydrogen sulphide, carbon disulphide, and oxides of sulphur; the oxygen into water and oxides of carbon. The remaining hydrogen is set free partly as hydrogen and partly in combination with carbon in the form of hydrocarbons. The most important of these is methane, with smaller quantities of many others, some of which are liquids or solids at ordinary temperatures. The great bulk of the carbon remains behind as coke and retort carbon.
The manufacture of coal gas. In the manufacture of coal gas it is necessary to separate from the volatile constituents formed by the heating of the coal all those substances which are either solid or liquid at ordinary temperature, since these would clog the gas pipes. Certain gaseous constituents, such as hydrogen sulphide and ammonia, must also be removed. The method used to accomplish this is shown in Fig. 66. The coal is heated in air-tight retorts illustrated by A. The volatile products escape through the pipe X and bubble into the tarry liquid in the large pipe B, known as the hydraulic main, which runs at right angles to the retorts. Here is deposited the greater portion of the solid and liquid products, forming a tarry mass known as coal tar. Much of the ammonia also remains dissolved in this liquid. The partially purified gas then passes into the pipes C, which serve to cool it and further remove the solid and liquid matter. The gas then passes into D, which is filled with coke over which a jet of water is sprayed. The water still further cools the gas and at the same time partially removes such gaseous products as hydrogen sulphide and ammonia, which are soluble in water. In E the gas passes over some material such as lime, which removes the last portions of the sulphur compounds as well as much of the carbon dioxide present. From E the gas passes into the large gas holder F, from which it is distributed through pipes to the places where it is burned.
One ton of good gas coal yields approximately 10,000 cu. ft. of gas, 1400 lb. of coke, 120 lb. of tar, and 20 gal. of ammoniacal liquor.
Not only is the ammonia obtained in the manufacture of the gas of great importance, but the coal tar also serves as the source of many very useful substances, as will be explained in Chapter XXXII.
Water gas. Water gas is essentially a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is made by passing steam over very hot anthracite coal, when the reaction shown in the following equation takes place:
When required merely to produce heat the gas is at once ready for use. When made for illuminating purposes it must be enriched, that is, illuminants must be added, since both carbon monoxide and hydrogen burn with non-luminous flames. This is accomplished by passing it into heaters containing highly heated petroleum oils. The gas takes up hydrocarbon gases formed in the decomposition of the petroleum oils, which make it burn with a luminous flame.
Water gas is very effective as a fuel, since both carbon monoxide and hydrogen burn with very hot flames. It has little odor and is very poisonous. Its use is therefore attended with some risk, since leaks in pipes are very likely to escape notice.
Natural gas. This substance, so abundant in many localities, varies much in composition, but is composed principally of methane. When used for lighting purposes it is usually burned in a burner resembling an open Bunsen, the illumination being furnished by an incandescent mantle. This is the case in the familiar Welsbach burner. Contrary to statements frequently made, natural gas contains no free hydrogen.
TABLE SHOWING COMPOSITION OF GASESThese are analyses of actual samples, and may be taken as about the average for the various kinds of gases. Any one of these may vary considerably. The nitrogen and oxygen in most cases is due to a slight admixture of air which is difficult to exclude entirely in the manufacture and handling of gases.
Fuels. A variety of substances are used as fuels, the most important of them being wood, coal, and the various gases mentioned above. Wood consists mainly of compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The composition of coal and the fuel gases has been given. Since these fuels are composed principally of carbon and hydrogen or their compounds, the chief products of combustion are carbon dioxide and water. The practice of heating rooms with portable gas or oil stoves with no provision for removing the products of combustion is to be condemned, since the carbon dioxide is generated in sufficient quantities to render the air unfit for breathing. Rooms so heated also become very damp from the large amount of water vapor formed in the combustion, and which in cold weather condenses on the window glass, causing the glass to "sweat." Both coal and wood contain a certain amount of mineral substances which constitute the ashes.
The electric furnace. In recent years electric furnaces have come into wide use in operations requiring a very high temperature. Temperatures as high as 3500° can be easily reached, whereas the hottest oxyhydrogen flame is not much above 2000°. These furnaces are constructed on one of two general principles.
1. Arc furnaces. In the one type the source of heat is an electric arc formed between carbon electrodes separated a little from each other, as shown in Fig. 67. The substance to be heated is placed in a vessel, usually a graphite crucible, just below the arc. The electrodes and crucible are surrounded by materials which fuse with great difficulty, such as magnesium oxide, the walls of the furnace being so shaped as to reflect the heat downwards upon the contents of the crucible.
2. Resistance furnaces. In the other type of furnace the heat is generated by the resistance offered to the current in its passage through the furnace. In its simplest form it may be represented by Fig. 68. The furnace is merely a rectangular box built up of loose bricks. The electrodes E, each consisting of a bundle of carbon rods, are introduced through the sides of the furnace. The materials to be heated, C, are filled into the furnace up to the electrodes, and a layer of broken coke is arranged so as to extend from one electrode to the other. More of the charge is then placed on top of the coke. In passing through the broken coke the electrical current encounters great resistance. This generates great heat, and the charge surrounding the coke is brought to a very high temperature. The advantage of this type of furnace is that the temperature can be regulated to any desired intensity.
EXERCISES1. Why does charcoal usually burn with no flame? How do you account for the flame sometimes observed when it burns?
2. How do you account for the fact that a candle burns with a flame?
3. What two properties must the mantle used in the Welsbach lamp possess?
4. (a) In what respects does the use of the Welsbach mantle resemble that of lime in the calcium light? (b) If the mantle were made of carbon, would it serve the same purpose?
5. Would anthracite coal be suitable for the manufacture of coal gas?
6. How could you prove the formation of carbon dioxide and water in the combustion of illuminating gases?
7. Suggest a probable way in which natural gas has been formed.
8. Coal frequently contains a sulphide of iron. (a) What two sulphur compounds are likely to be formed when gas is made from such coal? (b) Suggest some suitable method for the removal of these compounds.
9. Why does the use of the bellows on the blacksmith's forge cause a more intense heat?
10. What volume of oxygen is necessary to burn 100 l. of marsh gas and what volume of carbon dioxide would be formed, all of the gases being measured under standard conditions?
11. Suppose a cubic meter of Pennsylvania natural gas, measured under standard conditions, were to be burned. How much water by weight would result?
CHAPTER XIX MOLECULAR WEIGHTS, ATOMIC WEIGHTS, FORMULASIntroduction. In the chapter on The Atomic Theory, it was shown that if it were true that two elements uniting to form a compound always combined in the ratio of one atom of one element to one atom of the other element, it would be a very easy matter to decide upon figures which would represent the relative weights of the different atoms. It would only be necessary to select some one element as a standard and determine the weight of every element which combines with a definite weight (say 1 g.) of the standard element. The figures so obtained would evidently represent the relative weights of the atoms.
But the law of multiple proportion at once reminds us that two elements may unite in several proportions; and there is no simple way to determine the number of atoms present in the molecule of any compound. Consequently the problem of deciding upon the relative atomic weights is not an easy one. To the solution of this problem we must now turn.
Dalton's method of determining atomic weights. When Dalton first advanced the atomic theory he attempted to solve this problem by very simple methods. He thought that when only one compound of two elements is known it is reasonable to suppose that it contains one atom of each element. He therefore gave the formula HO to water, and HN to ammonia. When more than two compounds were known he assumed that the most familiar or the most stable one had the simple formula. He then determined the atomic weight as
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