3 per cent, and this gas was not
capable of self-inflammation. According to Bullier, however, acetylene
must contain 80 per cent of phosphine to render it spontaneously
inflammable. Berdenich has reported a case of a parcel of carbide which
yielded on the average 5.1 cubic foot of acetylene per lb., producing gas
which contained only 0.398 gramme of phosphorus in the form of phosphine
per cubic metre (or 0.028 per cent. of phosphine) and was spontaneously
inflammable. But on examination the carbide in question was found to be
very irregular in composition, and some lumps produced acetylene
containing a very high proportion of phosphorus and silicon compounds. No
doubt the spontaneous inflammability was due to the exceptional richness
of these lumps in phosphorus. As manufactured at the present day, calcium
carbide ordinarily never contains an amount of phosphide sufficient to
render the gas dangerous on the score of spontaneous inflammability; but
should inferior material ever be put on the markets, this danger might
have to be guarded against by submitting the gas evolved from it to
chemical analysis. Another risk has been suggested as attending the use
of acetylene contaminated with phosphine (and to a minor degree with
sulphuretted hydrogen), viz.
Pages:
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331