SULPHUR 1ft PYROLIGNEOUS SPIRIT. 
327 
12 vol. oz. of nearly colorless pyroligneous spirit were mixed 
with 20 oz. of water. After some hours the mixture was thrown 
upon a filter ; the fluid that passed was scarcely at all mijky, and 
but little troubled by a further addition of water. By this treat- 
ment nearly 5 vol. drms, of a slightly yellowish oil were separated. 
The filtered fluid was now rectified by a continued fractional dis- 
tillation, and I thus obtained 5j vol. oz. of perfectly colorless pyro- 
ligneous spirit, having a specific gravity of about 0.867. This 
spirit was now mixed in a retort with powered chloride of cal- 
cium; on cooling, a thick mass was obtained intermixed with clear 
fluid. I did not saturate the fluid with chloride of calcium, thinking 
that an excess of chloride of calcium might render the separation 
of the sulphur compound more difficult. The retort was then 
placed in a water-bath. The distillation proceeded rapidly for a 
few minutes, but soon became very slow ; the heat was, however, 
kept up for about 2| hours; 2 J vol. oz. were obtained. 2 oz. of 
water were now added to the materials in the retort, and the dis- 
tillation continued ; the second product amounted to 7 vol. dims. 
The product of the first distillation, namely the 2| vol. oz., on 
being tested, gave as much sulphate as so much crude spirit. The 
second quality, namely the 7 vol. drms., gave about a third of this 
quantity of sulphate of baryta. It now follows that the sulphur 
compound of pyroligneous spirit is not separated with the oily 
matter ; and also, it may be confidently predicted, that the spirit 
can be obtained free from sulphur by a continued repetition of Sir 
R. Kane's chloride of calcium process. 
An attempt was made to separate the sulphur by distilling pyro- 
ligneous spirit from a mixture of hydrate of potash and oxide of 
lead ; but the distilled fluid contained as much sulphur as ever. 
Sulphur can also be found in pyroligneous spirit by decomposing 
it in a retort with strong nitric acid. 
A mixture of pure lamp-black and hydrate of soda, placed on a 
platinum capsule, and ignited for about twenty minutes by a lamp 
fed with pyroligneous spirit, gave rather a strong reaction of sul- 
phate of soda. Consequently it is necessary to regard this source 
of sulphur in the incineration of organic matters. — Chem. Gaz. 
July 1852. 
