The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1879-12-09
What Should DO the Legal Standard OF Ker-
Gsenc?

These are two widely prevalent errors in
regard to the use of kerosene One is that
kerosene explosions are always the result of
carclessness; the other, that the use of
kerosene is necessarily attended with more
danger than accompanies the use OF animal
or vegetable oils; In other words that 1t is
impossible to make an illuminating oil from
petroleum which will not be more or less
r. .iy under ordinary household conditions.
But these errors are due to popular ignor-
aDce, with regard to the nature and proper
ties of the mixture Of petroleum products
properly denominated kerosene, aud the
conditions under which low grades or
adultertea kerosenes explode. Crude Pc
troleum, from the complexity Of its com
position, has been aptly compared to II
book; the products given off at successive
temperatures being the leaves, each show
Ing moro or less pronounced characteristics.
Its more volatile parts are given off at a
temperature rs low as the freezing point of
water. At summer heat appears rhigolinc
which boils at IS deg. Fah.; ut tempera-
lures below ITO deg, gasoline is given
off; and between that and 800 deg, the
product Is called naphtha. The naphtha dis
titled at q temperat ture above ESQ deg. is
distinguished as benzlne. All these pro-
ducts are without oily properties; are vola-
tile ut common temperatures; take fire
readily; and when their vapors are mixed
with from seven ID nine times their vol
ume Of air they blm with an explosion,
even when not confined. between 300 deg.
and 400 deg. kerosene Is distilled mixture
Of products ranglut In character between
benzine and the Heavy paratine oils, too
thick for usc in lamps. According to Pro.
fcsssor Chandler, 1D parts of crude petro-
leum yield by disullation, 10 parts of
gasoline, 10 of ref ned naphtha, of ben
zine, SO of kerosene, II l-2 of parafline,
QubricatinG oil, 2 Of paraftine, and 10 of
coke, gas, and loss, Bcnzine is worth
about half as much as kerosene; naphtha
and parafflne oil about onc-third rs much.
The temptation of refners of petroleum is
to mix their oils with the lighter and cheap
er naphtha, then bring up the product to
the appearance of kerosene by an aClmixture
of parafllnc oil, also lower In price than
pure kerosene. 1t is the naphtha, with It's
low flashing point that causes all the mis-
chief. Tho legal standard for kerosene IN
New York and many other States Is 100
deg. fire test; the United Statcs Standard
IS | 10 deg, In Michigan all oils are for
Diuueh which HUSH aI lio ueS. or DelOW.
Obviously If the law is enforced in the last
named state, kerosene accidents are quite
impossible there. An effort s being made
in Boston to have the standard raised from
100 deg. to ITO deg; some insist that it
should be made as high as 1856 deg. Pro-
fcssor Chandler, President of the Board of
Health of New York city, asserts that the
standard of 1875 deg should be adopted
everywhere; in ;1hich. case there would be
an end of kerosene explosions, provided, of
course, that law be llgidly enforced
Should the standard be 80 raised the actual
cost of the oil, he says would not he In
creased more than cent or two a gallon.