Kerosene

“ Instead of the ill-smelling, sputtering, explosive mixture of earlier years, the world now receives the water-white kerosene that burns as steadily and safely as a wax-taper. Seventy tank-vessels carry it over the seas to Europe, Asia and Africa. ”

“ Place the combined kerosene filtrate and kerosene washings from the insoluble impurities determination in a platinum dish. Place in this an ashless filter paper folded in the form of a cone, apex up. Light the apex of the cone, whereupon the bulk of the kerosene burns quietly. Ash the residue in a muffle, to constant weight, taking care that the decomposition of alkaline earth carbonates is complete, and report the result as soluble mineral matter. ”

“ It contains water at all times, but sometimes the proportion of water is greater than at others. The greater the amount of water, the less fuel will be contained in each gallon of kerosene. The quality of kerosene can be determined by checking up the length of time the stove will burn on a specified quantity of each new purchase of it.
Another product of the refinement of petroleum is gasoline. However, it is not used so extensively for fuel as kerosene, because it is more dangerous and more expensive.
ELECTRICITY
60. ”

“ The 'wigglers' upon the bottom have been suffocated and have given up the fight.
An ounce (two tablespoonfuls) of kerosene will spread over fifteen square feet of water surface, forming a film thick enough to kill all the 'wigglers' that arc beneath it. Kerosene of a cheap quality, known as high test light fuel oil, is preferable for this purpose. It can usually be bought at eight cents a gallon. If oil of this quality is not available, ordinary kerosene will answer the purpose. It should be applied as often as once in iwo weeks, for by that time the previous application ”

“ The hot gases from the combustion of the kerosene, before they escape into the outside air, have to circulate along a tortuous path, passing from the hot interior to the colder exterior compartments, losing heat all the time. Thus a hot hoosh is preparing in the central vessel side by side with the melting of snow for cocoa or tea in the annulus. By the combination of "Nansen Cooker" and primus stove one gallon of kerosene oil properly husbanded is made to last for twelve days in the preparation of the ordinary ration for three men. ”

“ The first solvent recommended by the committee is hot kerosene to be followed by petroleum ether kept at ordinary room temperature. Petroleum ether, cold or only slightly warm, is not a good fat and metallic soap solvent, whereas hot kerosene dissolves these substances readily, and for this reason the committee has recommended the double solvent method so as to exclude metallic soaps which are determined below as soluble mineral matter. ”

“ The vapor must also be thoroughly and uniformly mixed with air in order to obtain complete combustion. As yet, no reliable data on these limiting temperatures for kerosene and similar oils have been obtained. No investigation has ever been made of possible methods for preventing the oils from carbonizing at the higher temperatures, and the properties of explosive mixtures of oil vapors and air have not been studied. This field of engineering laboratory research is of vital importance to the solution of the kerosene-engine problem. ”

“ These purchase the heavy waste products from the large kerosene manufactories, and by special processes convert it into useful commercial articles.—The manufacture of petroleum products from the crude oil is carried on either to obtain the largest number of products of the finest quality, or to obtain the largest yield of kerosene without regard to any other product. Probably the finest petroleum refinery in America, if not in the world, is that of the Downer kerosene oil company of Boston, Mass., and Corry, Pa., of which Joshua Merrill is the manufacturing chemist. ”

“ The percentage of kerosene should not exceed eighty per cent., as the oil weighs six and a half pounds to the gallon, while water weighs eight, and more cannot easily be held in suspension in water. On the other hand in the process of emulsification, kerosene loses a portion of its value as an insecticide, and emulsions containing less than thirty per cent. of oil, although they may not separate when diluted with water, are nevertheless too much weakened for effective use against scale insects. ”

“ The manufactories of kerosene from cannel or other coal, therefore, went out of existence, and new ones, larger in size and greater in number, sprung up for the manufacture of kerosene or, popularly speaking, coal oil, from petroleum.41 This illuminant came into almost universal favor for lamp use, owing to its cheapness and brilliancy. It is not free from danger when improperly distilled, but under the operation of stringent laws governing its preparation and testing, danger from its use has been reduced to a minimum. ”

“ Keep an old pan and some cloths exclusively for this purpose, and be very careful not to allow the dirty hands or a drop of kerosene to come near any food.
Have a regular time in the day for cleaning the lamps, preferably immediately after all the morning work has been done after breakfast. Do not fill the lamps near the kitchen stove. Do not light a match while the oil-can is near, and never fill a lamp while it is lighted or while near another one which is lighted. If a fire is caused by kerosene, smother it with a heavy rug or a woollen garment, and do not attempt to put it out with water. ”

“ Provide small lamps with handles for carrying about, and broad-bottomed lamps for the kitchen, as these are not easily upset. Hand and kitchen lamps are best made of metal, unless they are to be used by very careful persons.
Sperm-oil, lard, tallow, etc., have been superseded to such an extent by kerosene that it is scarcely worth while to give any special directions in regard to them. In the choice of kerosene, attention should be paid to two points: its safety and its light-giving qualities. Kerosene is not a simple fluid, like water ”

“ The men all have tanks of oil or kerosene on their backs. Wait a minute, folks, I want to find out for sure whether it's oil or kerosene. Mumble. Mumble. Well, folks, I'm sorry, but this gentleman doesnt know exactly what's in the tanks. Anyway it's kerosene or oil and there are long hoses with wide nozzles at the end. Something like vacuumcleaners. Well, that's not quite right. Anyway theyre lighting the nozzles now. Makes a big whoosh. Now I'll bring the microphone closer and maybe you can catch the noise of the flame. Hear it? That's quite a roar. I guess old Mr Grass is cooked now. ”

“ It is volatile only at very high temperature, therefore, and cannot be ignited at less than 300 deg. Fahr., which is one reason why it is preferred to kerosene, particularly on railroad cars and locomotives and ocean steamers. The headlight oils in common use do not conform strictly to the above descriptions, being, some of them, only a fine quality of kerosene. The chemical constituents of refined petroleum are hydrogen and carbon, in the proportions of 75 of the former to 85 of the latter. We have not the precise chemical formula for headlight oil. ”

“ The victims are generally women and helpless children. Good kerosene is always safe under all conditions attending its use. It is naphtha that injures the quality of kerosene, and naphtha is never safe under any circumstances. So alarmingly frequent have these accidents become, and so disastrous have been the results, that in all civilized countries very stringent laws have been enacted, restraining and regulating the sale and storage of petroleum and its products. ”

“ Symptoms of kerosene exposure include eye, skin, nose, and throat irritation; burning sensation in the chest; headache; nausea; weakness; restlessness; incoordination; confusion, drowsiness; vomiting, diarrhea; dermatitis; and chemical pneumonia (if liquid kerosene is aspirated) . Airborne exposures at concentrations cited in the CCP studies are not likely to lead to eye or upper respiratory irritation. Quantitation of skin exposure to kerosene from CCP has not been reported. However, skin contact with CCP containing kerosene or its components could result in skin irritation. ”

“ Kerosene is transported in bulk by various means; specially constructed steel tank barges are used on the waterways of the United States, tank-cars on the railroads, and tank-wagons on the roads. The barrels employed in the transport of petroleum products are made of well-seasoned white-oak staves bound by six or eight iron hoops. They are coated internally with glue, and painted in the well-known colours, blue staves and white heads. The tins largely used for kerosene are made by machinery and contain 5 American gallons. ”

“ The introduction of kerosene was one of the blessings of modern life. It added several hours a day to the useful, intelligent life of man, and who can estimate the influence of these evening hours upon the advance of civilization? ”

“ Nearly every state in the Union has passed similar laws, and in many sections of the country kerosene may be purchased with comparative safety, as the different kinds of naphtha are regarded as dangerous, and are sold under proper restrictions. Yet notwithstanding these laws, and the general recognition of the fact that poor oils are very unsafe, a great deal of bad kerosene is burned every year, particularly in our large cities, and at the same time much property is destroyed and many lives are lost. ”

“ This may be brought about by a distillation under pressure, or by allowing the condensed distillate to fall into the highly heated residue in the still. The result of this treatment is that the comparatively heavy oils undergo dissociation, as shown by the experiments of Thorpe and Young, into specifically lighter hydrocarbons of lower boiling points, and the yield of kerosene from ordinary crude petroleum may thus be greatly increased. ”

“ Good kerosene oil should be purified from all that portion which boils or evaporates at a low temperature; for it is the production of this vapor, and its mixture with atmospheric air, that gives rise to those terrible explosions which sometimes occur when a light is brought near a can of poor oil. To test the oil in this respect, pour a little into an iron spoon, and heat it over a lamp until it is moderately warm to the touch. If the oil produces vapor which can be set on fire by means of a flame held a short distance above the surface of the liquid, it is bad. ”

“ It is usually prepared by adding two parts of kerosene to one part of a solution made by dissolving half a pound of hard soap in a gallon of boiling water, and churning the mixture through a force pump until the whole forms a creamy mass, which will thicken into a jelly-like substance on cooling. ”

“ In communities where gas is not available, kerosene, which is produced by the refinement of petroleum, is used extensively as a fuel for cooking, especially in hot weather when the use of a coal or a wood stove adds materially to the discomfort of the person who does the cooking. ”

“ No more than 5 per cent. will render kerosene inflammable at all ordinary temperatures, and liable to produce an explosion at any time when the vapors become mingled with air in proper proportion. These properties that render naphtha dangerous are inherent in the constitution of the substance itself, and no human art can change them. Yet there are those who pretend to invent non-explosive naphtha stoves and lamps, a thing that never was and never can be invented; there are those who manufacture and sell kerosene containing naphtha, and others who purchase the two, mix them, and sell them. ”

“ And kerosene with a high flash-point is practically non-inflammable."
"And consequently non-explosive," added Peter.
"Precisely. That's where safety comes in. Roughly, eighty per cent of fatal accidents to flying men at one time were attributable to fire. This kerosene we are using is an explosive only when under high pressure. ”

“ In the second place, the rapid development of the kerosene industry has so cheapened the product that people cannot afford to light their houses with whale oil, especially as they find the kerosene not only cheaper, but more convenient and satisfactory. ”

“ By the way, we haven’t told how to fill the kerosene-brick.
“No. 1” above means a tin can with three small kerosene-bricks in it. You take out one of the bricks, fill the can with kerosene and let it stand fifteen minutes or over night. The two bricks are ready for use any minute and stay so indefinitely. The smallest is big enough for kindling. Maker’s circular sent.
Ignites with a match. You put it out by dipping it in water. Throwing water on it does not put it out.
Set of little flower-garden tools. Price 30 cents; for 40 cents in new subscriptions. Postage 18 cents. ”

“ KEROSENE, in virtue of its cheapness and the brilliant light it gives, has found its way into almost every house. And yet frequent and often horrible accidents prove that much of the oil now sold is of a most dangerous character. It is the recognized duty of the State to render the sale of such oil impossible by proper inspection. Almost daily reports of loss of property and life, as the result of the use of unsafe kerosene, show, however, that this official control fails to effect its object. ”

“ Really, we do not burn the oil, but the gas that arises from the oil when liberated by the burning wick and becomes incandescent when fed by the oxygen of the air. While kerosene requires a high temperature for combustion, it is closely related to other products of coal oil, such as naphtha and gasoline, which become inflammable at a low heat and are therefore very dangerous. ”