Section III, 1919 [109] Trans. R.S.C. 



On the Partial Condensation of Natural Gas at Liquid Air Temperatures 



and a Curious Effect Observed with the Nitrogen 



which Dissolves in the Condensate 



By John Satterly, M.A., D.Sc, F.R.S.C. 



(Read May Meeting, 1919.) 



When so-called natural gas consisting largely of methane, other 

 hydrocarbons, nitrogen and sometimes helium, is passed into a tube 

 immersed in liquid air the hydrocarbons condense. This is the early 

 stage in the process employed for the analysis of natural gas for helium, 

 etc.^ 



Apparatus 



The method and apparatus used in the Physics Laboratory of 

 the University of Toronto is shown in Fig. 1. The natural gas is 

 stored in a 5 gallon demi-john B. This is provided with taps and by 

 this means a supply of water entering along the pipe A, displaces the 

 gas into a "collector" E, standing in a jar, D, of water. In our ex- 

 periments the collector, when full, held a volume of gas equal to 1200 

 cc. at atmospheric pressure. This is taken as the unit of volume, and 

 the gas passes on to the rest of the apparatus in these units. The gas 

 is then dried by calcium chloride contained in a tube, F. 



The condenser is a glass tube about 27 cms. long and 43^2 cm. 

 diameter. Its approximate volume is 400 cc. It is provided with 

 inlet and outlet tubes. The former communicates to a T-piece, of 

 which one limb joins up through a tap to the drying tube F, and the 

 other through a tap, T, to the outside air at O. The latter tube from 

 G also communicates with a T-piece of which one limb joins up to a 

 manometer, H, and the other passes through a tap to a tube, P, en 

 route for a pump, and the rest of the helium-extraction apparatus. 

 The condenser may be surrounded by the liquid-air vessel L. A 

 barometer, K, stands in the same cistern, M, as the manometer, H, 

 and the pressure in G is obtained from the difïerence between the 

 heights of the two columns in H and K read off on a scale S. 



In the process of analysis for helium the apparatus is exhausted 

 through O, then washed out with natural gas, the taps O, T, P are 



^ See Cady and McFarland. Journal Amer. Chem. Society. Vol. XXIX, etc., and 

 McLennan, Burton, Satterly and Dawes. Trans. Roy. Soc. Can. Vol. XIII, 1919, and 

 Report to the Admiralty on the Helium Content of the Natural Gases of Canada. 

 1916. 



