Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Acetylene
Acetylene is a colorless gas that has multiple industrial and practical uses. Its most commonly known use is welding, but it has been used for lighting, cutting metal, synthesizing other chemicals, and even carbon dating.
The chemical formula for acetylene, also known as ethyne, is C2H2, with a single alkyne bond which causes the molecule to have linear geometry. These chemical attributes make this an extremely unique compound.
This gas was discovered in 1836 by English chemist Edmund Davy, who found it by accidentally producing potassium carbide. Exposing potassium carbide to the humidity of the atmosphere produces acetylene. Davy stated that this gas would be a great source of illumination if efficient production could be developed. It wasn't until 1860 that the French chemist Marcellin Berthelot devised multiple methods of synthesis, and coined the name acetylene.
Historically, the most practical uses for acetylene were all lighting forms. For some time many street lamps were fueled by acetylene, and carbide lamps were used as vehicle headlights. The most common application of acetylene today is oxyacetylene gas welding.
Acetylene has many chemical synthesis applications as well. As a raw material, it can be used to make vinyl compounds, acrylics, and benzene among others.
Making acetylene is a fairly trivial process. All that's needed is calcium carbide and water. Of course, this is a very inefficient path of acetylene production since calcium carbide requires temperatures of 2000 degrees Celcius to create. Contemporary industrial production employs the partial combustion of methane. The methane used in acetylene production is typically from natural gas.
References
http://www.answers.com/topic/acetylene
