On the contrary, the fact
that the carbide impurities of acetylene, which, in the absolutely pure
state, is a gas of somewhat faint, hardly disagreeable, odour, do confer
upon that gas a persistent and unpleasant smell, is distinctly
advantageous; for, owing to that odour, a leak in the pipes, an unclosed
tap, or a fault in the generating plant is instantly brought to the
consumer's attention. A gas wholly devoid of odour would be extremely
dangerous in a house, and would have to be scented, as is done in the
case of non-carburetted water-gas when it is required for domestic
purposes.
AMOUNTS OF IMPURITIES AND SCOPE OF PURIFICATION.--Partly for the reason
which has just been given, and partly on the ground of expense, a
complete removal of the impurities from crude acetylene is not desirable.
All that need be done is to extract sufficient to deprive the gas of its
injurious effects upon lungs, decorations, and burners. As it stands,
however, such a statement is not sufficiently precise to be useful either
to consumers of acetylene or to manufacturers of plant, and some more or
less arbitrary standard must be set up in order to define the composition
of "commercially pure" acetylene, as well as to gauge the efficiency of
any process of purification.
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