Acetylene Generator

acetylene generator [ə′sed·əl‚ēn ′jen·ə‚rād·ər]

(engineering)

A steel cylinder or tank that provides for controlled mixing of calcium carbide and water to generate acetylene.

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Acetylene Generator 

an apparatus for producing acetylene, C₂H₂, by decomposing calcium carbide, CaC₂, with water. As a result of the reaction CaC₂ + 2H₂O = C₂H₂+ Ca(OH)₂ at 20° C and 101,325 newtons per sq m (N/m²), or 760 mm of mercury (mm Hg), 235-285 liters (l) of C₂H₂ are obtained from 1 kg of industrial CaC₂; theoretically 1 kg of CaC₂ gives 370 l of C₂H₂. The CaC₂ is decomposed to produce the acetylene in a gas generator from which the gas passes into a gas collector (gas holder).

Acetylene generators are divided into low-pressure types, with pressures no higher than 0.01 meganewton per sq m (MN/m²), or 0.1 kilogram-force per sq cm (kgf/cm²); medium-pressure types, with pressures of 0.01-0.15 MN/m², or 0.1-1.5 kgf/cm² (used for welding); and high-pressure types, with pressures of more than 0.15 MN/m², or 1.5 kgf/cm² (not generally used for welding). An acetylene generator can produce 0.8-150 cu m of acetylene per hour. Because of the danger of explosion, the generators are installed in a separate generator room, which is isolated from other factory buildings. Such generators produce acetylene that is saturated with water vapor, thus giving a lower flame temperature during welding. Consequently, for small amounts of welding the use of dissolved acetylene, which comes in steel tanks filled with a porous mass saturated with acetone, is advisable. This acetylene contains no water vapor, gives a hotter flame, and is explosion-proof.

K. K. KHRENOV