ID.] 



METHANE 



23 



lytic production of chloroform from 

 potassium chloride and alcohol see 

 Chem. Fab. auf Aktien, Germ. Pat. 

 29771 of 1884 ; Ber. 17, Ref. 624. See 

 also Dony- Renault, Zeit. Elektroch. 7, 

 57). Chloroform gives methane on reduc- 

 tion with zinc dust in alcoholic solution 

 (Sabanejeff, Ber. 9, 1810; Perkin, Ch. 

 News, 18, 106) or by potassium amal- 

 gam (Regnault, Gerhardt's ' Traite*/ 

 1, 603). Or by passing chloroform 

 vapour and hydrogen through a hot 

 tube, or by heating chloroform with 

 copper or with potassium iodide and 

 water in a sealed tube (Berthelot, 

 Jahresber. 1857, 267). 



Or from ethyl alcohol through bromo- 

 form (Lowig, Ann. 3, 295 ; Dumas, 

 Ann. China. [2] 56, 120; Giinther, 

 Arch. Pharm. [3] 25, 373), which is 

 reduced to methane by heating with 

 potassium iodide, water, and copper or 

 zinc (Berthelot, Ann. Chim. [3] 51, 48), 

 or by the copper-zinc couple (Gladstone 

 and Tribe, Journ. Ch. Soc. 28, 510). 

 Bromoform yields methane by passing 

 the vapour over heated copper (in an 

 atmosphere of carbon dioxide) or by 

 heating with zinc dust in alcoholic 

 solution (Nef, Ann. 308, 329). 



Or from ethyl alcohol through iodo- 

 form (Serullas, Ann. Chim. [2] 22, 172 ; 

 25, 314; Giinther, Arch. Pharm. [3] 

 25, 373 ; Rother, Pharm. Journ. [3] 4, 

 593 > ^ or electrolytic preparation of iodo- 

 form see Chem. Fab. auf Aktien, Germ. 

 Pat. 29771 of 1884; Ber. 17, Ref. 624; 

 Forster and Meves, Journ. pr. Ch. [2] 

 56, 354; Elbs and Herz, Zeit. Elektroch. 

 4, 113; also Dony- Renault, Ibid. 7, 57; 

 Bull. Assoc. Belg. [6] 14, 247; for 

 production from potassium iodide and 

 alcohol by the action of ozone see Otto, 

 Germ. Pat. 109013 of 1898; Ch. Centr. 

 1900, 2, 304). lodoform gives methane 

 by the action of the copper-zinc couple 

 (Gladstone and Tribe, Journ. Ch. Soc. 

 28, 508), or by heating with finely 

 divided silver in an atmosphere of 

 carbon dioxide (Nef, Ann. 308, 329). 



Or from ethyl alcohol through ethyl 

 chloride (Robiquet and Colin, Ann. 

 Chim. [2] 1, 343 ; Regnault, Ibid. 71, 

 355; Kuhlmann, Ann. 33, 108; Lowig, 

 Pogg. Ann. 45, 346 ; Groves, Journ. 



Ch. Soc. 27, 637; Kriiger, Journ. pr. 

 Ch. [2] 14, 195; Geuther, Zeit. [2] 7, 

 147). The latter gives methane (and 

 acetic acid) when passed over red-hot 

 lime (L. Meyer, Ann. 139, 282 ; see 

 also Dumas and Stas, Ann. Chim. [2] 

 73, 154, and Nef, Ann. 318, i). 



Or from alcohol through chloral by 

 chlorination (Liebig, Ann. 1, 189) ; also 

 under formic acid [Vol. II]). Chloral 

 in aqueous solution gives methane on 

 heating with zinc or iron dust (Cotton, 

 Bull. Soc. [2] 42, 622). 



Methane is among the gases produced 

 by passing the vapour of ethyl alcohol 

 over heated magnesium (Keiser and 

 Breed, Ch. News, 71, 118). Ethyl 

 alcohol by the action of aluminium 

 in presence of stannic chloride gives 

 aluminium ethylate(Hillyer and Crocker, 

 Am. Ch. Journ. 19, 41). The latter 

 gives methane among the products of its 

 decomposition by heat (Tischtschenko, 

 Ch. Centr. 1900, 1, 585, from Journ. 

 Russ. Soc. 31, 784). 



From ethyl alcohol through ethyl 

 ether (Valentin Rose, Scherer's, Journ. 

 d. Ch. 4, 253 ; Saussure, Ann. Chim. 

 89, 273 ; Dumas and Boullay, Ibid. [2] 

 36, 294; Williamson, Journ. Ch. Soc. 

 4, 1 06; Boullay, Journ. Pharm. 1, 97; 

 Soubeiran, Ibid. [3] 16, 321). The 

 latter gives methane among the pro- 

 ducts of photochemical oxidation in pre- 

 sence of hydrogen peroxide (Berthelot, 

 Comp. Rend. 129, 627). 



From ethyl alcohol through ethylene 

 by heating with dehydrating agents 

 (Mitscherlich, Ann. Chim. [3] 7, 12 ; 

 Ebelmen, Ibid. 16, 136; Erlenmeyer 

 and Bunte, Ann. 168, 64 ; 192, 244 ; 

 Villard, Ann. Chim. [7] 10,389; Newth, 

 Proc. Ch. Soc. 17, 147). Methane is 

 among the products formed by passing 

 ethylene over finely divided nick el heated 

 in a tube (Sabatier and Senderens,Comp. 

 Rend. 124, 1358 ; 131, 267), by passing 

 a mixture of ethylene and hydrogen 

 over heated freshly reduced cobalt (Ibid. 

 130, 1761), or by passing through a hot 

 tube (Day, Am. Ch. Journ. 8, 153)- 



NOTE : Ethylene and acetylene are among 

 the products formed when the vapours of 

 primary alcohols such as methyl [13], ethyl [14], 

 isobutyl [18], and amyl alcohol [22] are passed 

 over calcium carbide heated to 500 (Lefebvre, 



