Preparation

Reactions

• Above the pyrolysis of acetylene will start, which is relatively low for a hydrocarbon. The main products are the dimer vinylacetylene (C₄H₄) and benzene. At temperatures above , the main product will be soot.
• Using acetylene, Berthelot was the first to show that an aliphatic compound could form an aromatic compound when he heated acetylene in a glass tube to produce benzene with some toluene. Berthelot oxidized acetylene to yield acetic acid and oxalic acid. He found acetylene could be reduced to form ethylene and ethane.
• Polymerization of acetylene with Ziegler-Natta catalysts produces polyacetylene films. Polyacetylene, a chain of carbon molecules with alternating single and double bonds, was the first organic semiconductor to be discovered; reaction with iodine produces an extremely conductive material.
• In the Kucherov reaction (invented in 1881 by the Russian chemist Mikhail Kucherov) acetylene is hydrated to acetaldehyde with a mercury salt such as mercury(II) bromide. Before the advent of the Wacker process this reaction was conducted on an industrial scale.

Reppe chemistry

Cyclicization to give benzene and cyclooctatetraene:

Uses

Approximately 80 percent of the acetylene produced annually in the United States is used in chemical synthesis. The remaining 20 percent is used primarily for oxyacetylene gas welding and cutting due to the high temperature of the flame; combustion of acetylene with oxygen produces a flame of over , releasing 11.8 kJ/g. Oxyacetylene is the hottest burning common fuel gas. Acetylene is also used in the acetylene ('carbide') lamp, once used by miners (not to be confused with the Davy lamp), on vintage cars, and still sometimes used by cavers. In this context, the acetylene is generated by dripping water from the upper chamber of the lamp onto calcium carbide (CaC₂) pellets in the base of the lamp.
   In former times a few towns used acetylene for lighting, including Tata in Hungary where it was installed on 24 July 1897, and North Petherton, England in 1898.
   In modern times acetylene is sometimes used for carburization (that is, hardening) of steel when the object is too large to fit into a furnace.

Safety and handling

Compression

Due to the carbon-to-carbon triple bond, acetylene gas is fundamentally unstable, and will decompose in an exothermic reaction if compressed to any great extent. Acetylene can explode with extreme violence if the pressure of the gas exceeds about (≈14.5 psi) as a gas or when in liquid or solid form, so it's shipped and stored dissolved in acetone or dimethylformamide (DMF), contained in a metal cylinder with porous filling (Agamassan), which renders it safe to transport and use.
   There are strict regulations on the shipment of dangerous gas cylinders throughout the world. Oxy-acetylene welding was a very popular welding process in previous decades, however, the development and advantages of arc-based welding processes have made oxy-fuel welding nearly extinct. Acetylene usage for welding has dropped significantly. However, oxy-fuel cutting is still very popular and oxy-acetylene cutting is present in nearly every metal fabrication shop.

Toxic effects

Inhaling acetylene may cause dizziness, headache and nausea. It may also contain toxic impurities: the Compressed Gas Association Commodity Specification for acetylene has established a grading system for identifying and quantifying phosphine, arsine, and hydrogen sulfide content in commercial grades of acetylene in order to limit exposure to these impurities. The sulfur, phosphorus and arsenic are carryovers from the synthesis ingredient coke, an impure form of carbon and different, organic impurities would be expected from the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons source.
   While the impurities in acetylene can be toxic and even fatal, pure acetylene is of a very low toxicity (not counting the "narcotic" effects). Up to 80% percent, (v/v) acetylene has been administered to surgical patients as a general anaesthetic. The trade name for acetylene was "narcylene." It was used a fair amount experimentally in Germany in their impoverished 1920's, perhaps on several thousand patients. Medically, acetylene was considered to be nearly as safe as nitrous oxide and with a slightly higher potency, allowing for the use of higher percentages of oxygen in the blend; it's about 50% more potent. However, the use of acetylene and oxygen mixtures was dropped after several gas explosions inside patients' lungs. The energy of these explosions would be expected to exceed any of the flammable inhalation anesthetics due to the instability of the triple bond (cyclopropane would be nearly as bad). It was suggested that such an internal thorax explosion couldn't occur with air mixtures (without purified oxygen).
   Acetylene has been infrequently abused in a manner akin to nitrous oxide abuse up through modern times, according to the literature. Such abuse can result in the death of the abuser due to toxicity of the above mentioned impurities phosphine, arsine, and hydrogen sulfide. Since the gas is charged (absorbed) into tanks soaked with acetone over a solid matrix, some acetone comes out with the gas, further contributing to the poisonings. The driver for this abusive behavior is better understood with the view of acetylene's anesthetic properties and addictive behaviors.
   Impurities in acetylene are easily detectable by smell. Pure acetylene is a colorless and odorless gas. The characteristic garlic-like odor of technical grade acetylene is attributable to contamination by impurities. Impurities which may be present include: divinyl sulfide, ammonia, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphine, arsine, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, vinyl acetylene, divinyl acetylene, diacetylene, propadiene, hexadiene, butadienyl acetylene, and methyl acetylene.

Fire hazard

Mixtures with air containing between 3% and 82% acetylene are explosive on ignition. The minimum ignition temperature is . One curious discovery of acetylene is on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. Natural acetylene is believed to form from either catalytic decomposition of long chain hydrocarbons or at temperatures ≥ 1,770 kelvin. Since such temperatures are highly unlikely on such a small distant body, this discovery is potentially suggestive of catalytic reactions within the moon, making it a promising site to search for prebiotic chemistry.

Further Information

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