Volume 1
A treatise on chemistry / by H.E. Roscoe and C. Schorlemmer.
- Henry Enfield Roscoe
- Date:
- 1877-1892
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A treatise on chemistry / by H.E. Roscoe and C. Schorlemmer. Source: Wellcome Collection.
627/792 page 611
![(4) The same gas is likewise formed when a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen is exposed to the action of the electric induction spark :—1 CO + 3H2 = CH4 + H20. Ethyl Hydride or Ethane, C2Ht5. Density = 14 97. 380 This gas is invariably present in the gaseous discharge accompanying petroleum in the oil springs of Pennsylvania, and is dissolved in considerable quantities in the liquid hydro- carbons.2 Preparation.—(1) Ethane is readily obtained by treating ethyl iodide with zinc and water under pressure at a temperature of 150°;3 thus :— Zn+ C2H5I + H20 = ZnOHI + C2H0. (2) The same gas is produced when a galvanic current is passed through a concentrated solution of acetate of potash :—4 2C2H302K + H20=C2Hg + K2C03 + co2 + h2. Hydrogen and carbon dioxide are evolved at the negative pole, whilst ethane is set free at the positive pole. Properties.—Ethane is a colourless and odourless gas, slightly soluble in water, but more soluble in alcohol. According to Schickendantz, its coefficient of absorption in water is : c = 0-094556 - 0-0035324* + 0 000062782. Its specific gravity, according to Kolbe, is 1 037. Brought in contact with a light, it burns with a bluish, slightly luminous llame. Ethylene, Etiiene, or Olefiant Gas, C2H4. Density = 13-97. 381 This gas appears to have been discovered byBecher, who obtained it by heating alcohol with sulphuric acid. His obser- vations were, however, considered to be erroneous up to the time of Priestley, who, in his Experiments and Observations on Air, 1 Brodie, Proc. Roy. Soc. xxi. 245. 2 Ronalds, Journ. Chem. Soc. [2], iii. 54. 3 Frankland, Quart. Journ. Chem. Soc. 1850, p. 263. 4 Kolbe, Ann. Chem. Pharm. lxix. 257. 39—2](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28122409_0001_0629.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
