222 RESEARCHES UPON^ THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OP GASES. 



like glass into rods of almost hairlike fineness. The quantity required was not suffi- 

 cient to cause error in the gas measurements, inasmuch as the gas, as it flows from 

 the wells, is in most instances remarkably dry. 



The cylinder was then connected with a porcelain combustion tube, C, contain- 

 ing copper oxide. The general arrangement of the apparatus is shown in the accom- 

 panying sketch. 



Before the communication was made between the tube C and the glass cylin- 

 der A, air was expelled from by pure nitrogen dried in the tubes M. The com- 

 bustion tube was intensely heated during the passage of the nitrogen. 



After expulsion of air by nitrogen, the natural gas was caused to flow over the 

 copper oxide previously heated for some time. The movement of the gas through 

 the combustion tube was controlled by means of mercury, which flowed from the 

 funnel D into the gas cylinder, and was so regulated that two hours were required 

 for complete combustion. 



Experiments showed that there is no danger of production of carbon monoxide 

 or unsaturated hydrocarbons when the gas stream is slow. 



After the gas had been expelled from the cylinder A, it was rinsed by lowering 

 the mercury funnel so that nitrogen passed down into the cylinder, to be again driven 

 out by raising the funnel. 



After the gas had been fully burnt, air (purified by the lower system of drying 

 tubes in the sketch) was passed through the apparatus till the nitrogen and moisture 

 had been fully displaced and the process was then complete, the COo and H>0 being 

 determined by weight. The method, as is seen, gives merely the proportions of car- 

 bon and hydrogen. 



As the exact percentage of the paraffins in the gas mixture cannot be ascer- 

 tained by analysis, an approximation alone is possible. 



The composition by weight of some of the lower (gaseous) paraffins is as follows : 



PARAFFINS. CARBON. HYDROGEN. 



Methane 74.97 per cent. 25.03 per cent. 



Ethane 79.96 " 20.04 " 



Propane , 81.78 " 18.22 " 



Butane 83.72 " 1C.28 " 



In the following table, the calculated composition by weight of various mixtures 

 of methane and ethane is given (the atomic weight of carbon being 11.97): 



MIXTURE OF 

 MKTUANK. ETHANE. CARBON. HYDROGEN. 



1 vol. 1 vol 78.22 per cent. 21.78 per cent. 



3 " 2 " 77.73 " 32.27 " 



2 " 1 " 77.38 " 32.63 " 



