ACETYLENE GAS

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For years, acetylene gas was used as lamps by combining water (H2O) and calcium carbide (CAC2). Has anyone, in history, ever devised a way to use this gas to power an engine, or as a catalyst for some other fuel? I am no chemist, so forgive me for being chemically naive. And wood there be sufficient fuel stock to make a difference if someone could make this work? Obviously there should be enough water. Any ideas? Forgive me if I am way off base.
 
It probably wouldn't be hard to make an engine run on it, but the problem is it's extremely unstable. Not something I would want to be driving around with.
 
Sounds like it should work in concept, like compressed natural gas.

There would be issues with the gas coming out of solution when bounced around in an operating vehicle possibly ?

Acetylene detonates spontaneously under pressure and is stored dissolved in acetone.

I'll bet the Germans worked on this in WW2.

Produce it on the vehicle, directly from the rocks ?

I hope we don't have to get to these alternatives.
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acetylene gas spontainously combusts at any pressure over 15 psi. you'd have a very low powered engine with such low compression. it is also puts out alot of soot when it burns unless it has oxygen injected into it.
 
very cool! I'd like to research more about acetylene.

At first I always thought too that acetylene would be a good fuel but then when I took a welding class in my vocational school, I was surprised how much soot it produces and all those black little buggers in the air. That's cool,,,,AR
 
We don't have any calcium carbide mines. It takes energy to produce calcium carbide. Next, you carry around 112 pounds of oxygen and calcium for each 28 pounds of acetylene produced or worse as CaO drinks up more water converting to Ca(OH)2. Then you must dispose of the Ca(OH)2. That still leaves making the engine run on acetylene.
 
labman, 'xackerly the issue with acetylene (much like Hydrogen) uses buckets more energy than it releases in an I.C. engine.

Then it's got an octane rating approximating...none.
 
Interesting discussion.

quote:

acetylene gas spontainously combusts at any pressure over 15 psi

I assume you mean in the presence of O2? How else would we have pressurized welding tanks?

I'm gonna read the link where they have figured it out.
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quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
Interesting discussion.

I assume you mean in the presence of O2? How else would we have pressurized welding tanks?

I'm gonna read the link where they have figured it out.
grin.gif


Acetylene tanks are kind of special. The Acetylene is disolved in acetone so it won't spontateously decompose as it can at some pressure above 15 psi. IIRC from welding class, there is some porous material in the tanks to control the acetone.

The acetone is the reason acetylene tanks are supposed to be kept vertical.

Some info on the tanks, see page 6 for a sketch
Acetylene tanks

[ May 15, 2005, 11:29 AM: Message edited by: XS650 ]
 
Labman, thanks for quantifying it. I knew it would be an inefficent way to carry energy around but didn't realize it would be that inefficient.
 
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