Similarly, if the carbide in generators
F, G, and H (also K) has been treated with a solid or semi-solid grease,
it is practically unattacked by the stream of warm damp gas, and is only
decomposed when the liquid itself arrives in the basket. For the same
reason treated carbide can be kept for fairly long periods of time, even
in a drum with badly fitting lid, without suffering much deterioration by
the action of atmospheric moisture. The problem of acetylene generation
is accordingly simplified to a considerable degree by the use of such
treated carbide, and the advantage becomes more marked as the plant
decreases in size till a portable apparatus is reached, because the
smaller the installation the more relatively expensive or inconvenient is
a large holder for surplus gas. The one defect of the method is the extra
cost of such treated carbide; and in English conditions ordinary calcium
carbide is too expensive to permit of any additional outlay upon the
acetylene if it is to compete with petroleum or the product of a tiny
coal-gas works. The extra cost of using treated carbide falls upon the
revenue account, and is much more noticeable than that of a large holder,
which is capital expenditure.
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