[53]This is a so-called intermediate oil (between kerosene and lubricating oils), solar oil, or pyronaphtha. Lamps are already being manufactured for burning it but still require improvement. Above all, however, it requires a more extended market, and this at present is wanting, owing to the two following reasons: (1) Those products of the American petroleum which are the most widely spread and almost universally consumed contain but little of this intermediate oil, and what there is is divided between the kerosene and the lubricating oils; (2) the Baku naphtha, which is capable of yielding a great deal (up to 30 p.c.) of intermediate oil, is produced in enormous quantities, about 300 million poods, but has no regular markets abroad, and for the consumption in Russia (about 25 million poods of kerosene per annum) and for the limited export (60 million poods per annum) into Western Europe (by the Trans-Caucasian Railway) those volatile and more dangerous parts of the naphtha which enter into the composition of the American petroleum are sufficient, although Baku naphtha yields about 25 p.c. of such kerosene. For this reason pyronaphtha is not manufactured in sufficient quantities, and the whole world is consuming the unsafe kerosene. When a pipe line has been laid from Baku to the Black Sea (in America there are many which carry the raw naphtha to the sea-shore, where it is made into kerosene and other products) then the whole mass of the Baku naphtha will furnish safe illuminating oils, which without doubt will find an immense application. A mixture of the intermediate oil with kerosene or Baku oil (specific gravity 0·84 to 0·85) may be considered (on removing the benzoline) to be the best illuminating oil, because it is safe (flashing point from 40° to 60°), cheaper (Baku naphtha gives as much as 60 p.c. of Baku oil), and burns perfectly well in lamps differing but little from those made for burning American kerosene (unsafe, flashing point 20° to 30°).[54]The substitution of Baku pyronaphtha, or intermediate oil, or Baku oil (seeNote53), would not only be a great advantage as regards safety from fire, but would also be highly economical. A ton (62 poods) of American crude petroleum costs at the coast considerably more than 24s.(12 roubles), and yields two-thirds of a ton of kerosene suitable for ordinary lamps. A ton of raw naphtha in Baku costs less than 4s.(1 rouble 80 copecks), and with a pipe line to the shore of the Black Sea would not cost more than 8 roubles, or 16s.Moreover, a ton of Baku naphtha will yield as much as two-thirds of a ton of kerosene, Baku oil, and pyronaphtha suitable for illuminating purposes.[55]Naphtha has been applied for heating purposes on a large scale in Russia, not only on account of the low cost of naphtha itself and of the residue from the preparation of kerosene, but also because the products of all the Baku naphtha do not find an outlet for general consumption. Naphtha itself and its various residues form excellent fuel, burning without smoke and giving a high temperature (steel and iron may be easily melted in the flame). A hundred poods of good coal (for instance, Don coal) used as fuel for heating boilers are equivalent to 36 cubic feet (about 250 poods) of dry wood, while only 70 poods of naphtha will be required; and moreover there is no need for stoking, as the liquid can be readily and evenly supplied in the required quantity. The economic and other questions relating to American and Baku petroleums have been discussed more in detail in some separate works of mine (D. Mendeléeff): (1) ‘The Naphtha Industry of Pennsylvania and the Caucasus,’ 1870; (2) ‘Where to Build Naphtha Works,’ 1880; (3) ‘On the Naphtha Question,’ 1883; (4) ‘The Baku Naphtha Question,’ 1886; (5) the article on the naphtha industry in the account of the Russian industries printed for the Chicago Exhibition.[56]As during the process of the dry distillation of wood, sea-weed, and similar vegetabledébris, and also when fats are decomposed by the action of heat (in closed vessels), hydrocarbons similar to those of naphtha are formed, it was natural that this fact should have been turned to account to explain the formation of the latter. But the hypothesis of the formation of naphtha from vegetabledébrisinevitably assumes coal to be the chief element of decomposition, and naphtha is met with in Pennsylvania and Canada, in the Silurian and Devonian strata, which do not contain coal, and correspond to an epoch not abounding in organic matter. Coal was formed from the vegetabledébrisof the Carboniferous, Jurassic, and other recent strata, but judging more from its composition and structure, it has been subjected to the same kind of decomposition as peat; nor could liquid hydrocarbons have been thus formed to such an extent as we see in naphtha. If we ascribe the derivation of naphtha to the decomposition of fat (adipose, animal fat) we encounter three almost insuperable difficulties: (1) Animal remains would furnish a great deal of nitrogenous matter, whilst there is but very little in naphtha; (2) the enormous quantity of naphtha already discovered as compared with the insignificant amount of fat in the animal carcase; (3) the sources of naphtha always running parallel to mountain chains is completely inexplicable. Being struck with this last-mentioned circumstance in Pennsylvania, and finding that the sources in the Caucasus surround the whole Caucasian range (Baku, Tiflis, Gouria, Kouban, Tamman, Groznoe, Dagestan), I developed in 1876 the hypothesis of the mineral origin of naphtha expounded further on.[57]During the upheaval of mountain ranges crevasses would be formed at the peaks with openings upwards, and at the foot of the mountains with openings downwards. These cracks in course of time fill up, but the younger the mountains the fresher the cracks (the Alleghany mountains are, without doubt, more ancient than the Caucasian, which were formed during the tertiary epoch); through them water must gain access deep into the recesses of the earth to an extent that could not occur on the level (on plains). The situation of naphtha at the foot of mountain chains is the principal argument in my hypothesis.Another fundamental reason is the consideration of the mean density of the earth. Cavendish, Airy, Cornu, Boys, and many others who have investigated the subject by various methods, found that, taking water = 1, the mean density of the earth is nearly 5·5. As at the surface water and all rocks (sand, clay, limestone, granite, &c.) have a density less than 3, it is evident (as solid substances are but slightly compressible even under the greatest pressure) that inside the earth there are substances of a greater density—indeed, not less than 7 or 8. What conclusion, then, can be arrived at? Anything heavy contained in the bosom of the earth must be distributed not only on its surface, but throughout the whole solar system, for everything tends to show that the sun and planets are formed from the same material, and according to the hypothesis of Laplace and Kant it is most probable, and indeed must necessarily be held, that the earth and planets are but fragments of the solar atmosphere, which have had time to cool considerably and become masses semi-liquid inside and solid outside, forming both planets and satellites. The sun amongst other heavy elements contains a great deal of iron, as shown by spectrum analysis. There is also much of it in an oxidised condition on the surface of the earth. Meteoric stones, carried as fragmentary planets in the solar system and sometimes falling upon the earth, consisting of siliceous rocks similar to terrestrial ones, often contain either dense masses of iron (for example, the Pallosovo iron preserved in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences) or granular masses (for instance, the Okhansk meteorite of 1886). It is therefore possible that the interior of the earth contains much iron in a metallic state. This might be anticipated from the hypothesis of Laplace, for the iron must have been compressed into a liquid at that period when the other component parts of the earth were still strongly heated, and oxides of iron could not then have been formed. The iron was covered with slags (mixtures of silicates like glass fused with rocky matter) which did not allow it to burn at the expense of the oxygen of the atmosphere or of water, just at that time when the temperature of the earth was very high. Carbon was in the same state; its oxides were also capable of dissociation (Deville); it is also but slightly volatile, and has an affinity for iron, and iron carbide is found in meteoric stones (as well as carbon and even the diamond). Thus the supposition of the existence of iron carbides in the interior of the earth was derived by me from many indications, which are to some extent confirmed by the fact that granular pieces of iron have been found in some basalts (ancient lava) as well as in meteoric stones. The occurrence of iron in contact with carbon during the formation of the earth is all the more probable because those elements predominate in nature which have small atomic weights, and among them the most widely diffused, the most difficultly fusible, and therefore the most easily condensed (Chapter XV.) are carbon and iron. They passed into the liquid state when all compounds were at a temperature of dissociation.[58]The following is the typical equation for this formation:3FemCn+ 4mH2O =mFe3O4(magnetic oxide) + C5nH8m(seeChapter XVII., Note 38).[59]Cloez investigated the hydrocarbons formed when cast-iron is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and found CnH2nand others. I treated crystalline manganiferous cast-iron with the same acid, and obtained a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons exactly similar to natural naphtha in taste, smell, and reaction.[60]Probably naphtha was produced during the upheaval of all mountain chains, but only in some cases were the conditions favourable to its being preserved underground. The water penetrating below formed there a mixture of naphtha and watery vapours, and this mixture issued through fissures to the cold parts of the earth's crust. The naphtha vapours, on condensing, formed naphtha, which, if there were no obstacles, appeared on the surface of land and water. Here part of it soaked through formations (possibly the bituminous slates, schists, dolomites, &c., were thus formed), another part was carried away on the water, became oxidised, evaporated, and was driven to the shores (the Caucasian naphtha probably in this way, during the existence of the Aralo-Caspian sea, was carried as far as the Sisran banks of the Volga, where many strata are impregnated with naphtha and products of its oxidation resembling asphalt and pitch); a great part of it was burnt in one way or another—that is, gave carbonic anhydride and water. If the mixture of vapours, water, and naphtha formed inside the earth had no free outlet to the surface, it nevertheless would find its way through fissures to the superior and colder strata, and there become condensed. Some of the formations (clays) which do not absorb naphtha were only washed away by the warm water, and formed mud, which we also now observe issuing from the earth in the form of mud volcanoes. The neighbourhood of Baku and the whole of the Caucasus near the naphtha districts are full of such volcanoes, which from time to time are in a state of eruption. In old naphtha beds (such as the Pennsylvanian) even these blow-holes are closed, and the mud volcanoes have had time to be washed away. The naphtha and the gaseous hydrocarbons formed with it under the pressure of the overlying earth and water impregnated the layers of sand, which are capable of absorbing a great quantity of such liquid, and if above this there were strata impermeable to naphtha (dense, clayey, damp strata) the naphtha would accumulate in them. It is thus preserved from remote geological periods up to the present day, compressed and dissolved under the pressure of the gases which burst out in places forming naphtha fountains. If this be granted, it may be thought that in the comparatively new (geologically speaking) mountain chains, such as the Caucasian, naphtha is even now being formed. Such a supposition may explain the remarkable fact that, in Pennsylvania, localities where naphtha had been rapidly worked for five years have become exhausted, and it becomes necessary to constantly have recourse to sinking new wells in fresh places. Thus, from the year 1859, the workings were gradually transferred along a line running parallel to the Alleghany mountains for a distance of more than 200 miles, whilst in Baku the industry dates from time immemorial (the Persians worked near the village of Ballaghana) and up to the present time keeps to one and the same place. The amounts of the Pennsylvanian and Baku annual outputs are at present equal—namely, about 250 million poods (4 million tons). It may be that the Baku beds, as being of more recent geological formation, are not so exhausted by nature as those of Pennsylvania, and perhaps in the neighbourhood of Baku naphtha is still being formed, which is partially indicated by the continued activity of the mud volcanoes. As many varieties of naphtha contain in solution solid slightly volatile hydrocarbons like paraffin and mineral wax, the production of ozocerite, or mountain wax, is accounted for in conjunction with the formation of naphtha. Ozocerite is found in Galicia, also in the neighbourhood of Novorossisk, in the Caucasus, and on the islands of the Caspian Sea (particularly in the Chileken and Holy Islands); it is met with in large masses, and is used for the production of paraffin andceresene, for the manufacture of candles, and similar purposes.As the naphtha treasures of the Caucasus have hardly been exploited (near Baku and near Kouban and Grosnyi), and as naphtha finds numerous uses, the subject presents most interesting features to chemists and geologists, and is worthy of the close attention of practical men.
[53]This is a so-called intermediate oil (between kerosene and lubricating oils), solar oil, or pyronaphtha. Lamps are already being manufactured for burning it but still require improvement. Above all, however, it requires a more extended market, and this at present is wanting, owing to the two following reasons: (1) Those products of the American petroleum which are the most widely spread and almost universally consumed contain but little of this intermediate oil, and what there is is divided between the kerosene and the lubricating oils; (2) the Baku naphtha, which is capable of yielding a great deal (up to 30 p.c.) of intermediate oil, is produced in enormous quantities, about 300 million poods, but has no regular markets abroad, and for the consumption in Russia (about 25 million poods of kerosene per annum) and for the limited export (60 million poods per annum) into Western Europe (by the Trans-Caucasian Railway) those volatile and more dangerous parts of the naphtha which enter into the composition of the American petroleum are sufficient, although Baku naphtha yields about 25 p.c. of such kerosene. For this reason pyronaphtha is not manufactured in sufficient quantities, and the whole world is consuming the unsafe kerosene. When a pipe line has been laid from Baku to the Black Sea (in America there are many which carry the raw naphtha to the sea-shore, where it is made into kerosene and other products) then the whole mass of the Baku naphtha will furnish safe illuminating oils, which without doubt will find an immense application. A mixture of the intermediate oil with kerosene or Baku oil (specific gravity 0·84 to 0·85) may be considered (on removing the benzoline) to be the best illuminating oil, because it is safe (flashing point from 40° to 60°), cheaper (Baku naphtha gives as much as 60 p.c. of Baku oil), and burns perfectly well in lamps differing but little from those made for burning American kerosene (unsafe, flashing point 20° to 30°).
[53]This is a so-called intermediate oil (between kerosene and lubricating oils), solar oil, or pyronaphtha. Lamps are already being manufactured for burning it but still require improvement. Above all, however, it requires a more extended market, and this at present is wanting, owing to the two following reasons: (1) Those products of the American petroleum which are the most widely spread and almost universally consumed contain but little of this intermediate oil, and what there is is divided between the kerosene and the lubricating oils; (2) the Baku naphtha, which is capable of yielding a great deal (up to 30 p.c.) of intermediate oil, is produced in enormous quantities, about 300 million poods, but has no regular markets abroad, and for the consumption in Russia (about 25 million poods of kerosene per annum) and for the limited export (60 million poods per annum) into Western Europe (by the Trans-Caucasian Railway) those volatile and more dangerous parts of the naphtha which enter into the composition of the American petroleum are sufficient, although Baku naphtha yields about 25 p.c. of such kerosene. For this reason pyronaphtha is not manufactured in sufficient quantities, and the whole world is consuming the unsafe kerosene. When a pipe line has been laid from Baku to the Black Sea (in America there are many which carry the raw naphtha to the sea-shore, where it is made into kerosene and other products) then the whole mass of the Baku naphtha will furnish safe illuminating oils, which without doubt will find an immense application. A mixture of the intermediate oil with kerosene or Baku oil (specific gravity 0·84 to 0·85) may be considered (on removing the benzoline) to be the best illuminating oil, because it is safe (flashing point from 40° to 60°), cheaper (Baku naphtha gives as much as 60 p.c. of Baku oil), and burns perfectly well in lamps differing but little from those made for burning American kerosene (unsafe, flashing point 20° to 30°).
[54]The substitution of Baku pyronaphtha, or intermediate oil, or Baku oil (seeNote53), would not only be a great advantage as regards safety from fire, but would also be highly economical. A ton (62 poods) of American crude petroleum costs at the coast considerably more than 24s.(12 roubles), and yields two-thirds of a ton of kerosene suitable for ordinary lamps. A ton of raw naphtha in Baku costs less than 4s.(1 rouble 80 copecks), and with a pipe line to the shore of the Black Sea would not cost more than 8 roubles, or 16s.Moreover, a ton of Baku naphtha will yield as much as two-thirds of a ton of kerosene, Baku oil, and pyronaphtha suitable for illuminating purposes.
[54]The substitution of Baku pyronaphtha, or intermediate oil, or Baku oil (seeNote53), would not only be a great advantage as regards safety from fire, but would also be highly economical. A ton (62 poods) of American crude petroleum costs at the coast considerably more than 24s.(12 roubles), and yields two-thirds of a ton of kerosene suitable for ordinary lamps. A ton of raw naphtha in Baku costs less than 4s.(1 rouble 80 copecks), and with a pipe line to the shore of the Black Sea would not cost more than 8 roubles, or 16s.Moreover, a ton of Baku naphtha will yield as much as two-thirds of a ton of kerosene, Baku oil, and pyronaphtha suitable for illuminating purposes.
[55]Naphtha has been applied for heating purposes on a large scale in Russia, not only on account of the low cost of naphtha itself and of the residue from the preparation of kerosene, but also because the products of all the Baku naphtha do not find an outlet for general consumption. Naphtha itself and its various residues form excellent fuel, burning without smoke and giving a high temperature (steel and iron may be easily melted in the flame). A hundred poods of good coal (for instance, Don coal) used as fuel for heating boilers are equivalent to 36 cubic feet (about 250 poods) of dry wood, while only 70 poods of naphtha will be required; and moreover there is no need for stoking, as the liquid can be readily and evenly supplied in the required quantity. The economic and other questions relating to American and Baku petroleums have been discussed more in detail in some separate works of mine (D. Mendeléeff): (1) ‘The Naphtha Industry of Pennsylvania and the Caucasus,’ 1870; (2) ‘Where to Build Naphtha Works,’ 1880; (3) ‘On the Naphtha Question,’ 1883; (4) ‘The Baku Naphtha Question,’ 1886; (5) the article on the naphtha industry in the account of the Russian industries printed for the Chicago Exhibition.
[55]Naphtha has been applied for heating purposes on a large scale in Russia, not only on account of the low cost of naphtha itself and of the residue from the preparation of kerosene, but also because the products of all the Baku naphtha do not find an outlet for general consumption. Naphtha itself and its various residues form excellent fuel, burning without smoke and giving a high temperature (steel and iron may be easily melted in the flame). A hundred poods of good coal (for instance, Don coal) used as fuel for heating boilers are equivalent to 36 cubic feet (about 250 poods) of dry wood, while only 70 poods of naphtha will be required; and moreover there is no need for stoking, as the liquid can be readily and evenly supplied in the required quantity. The economic and other questions relating to American and Baku petroleums have been discussed more in detail in some separate works of mine (D. Mendeléeff): (1) ‘The Naphtha Industry of Pennsylvania and the Caucasus,’ 1870; (2) ‘Where to Build Naphtha Works,’ 1880; (3) ‘On the Naphtha Question,’ 1883; (4) ‘The Baku Naphtha Question,’ 1886; (5) the article on the naphtha industry in the account of the Russian industries printed for the Chicago Exhibition.
[56]As during the process of the dry distillation of wood, sea-weed, and similar vegetabledébris, and also when fats are decomposed by the action of heat (in closed vessels), hydrocarbons similar to those of naphtha are formed, it was natural that this fact should have been turned to account to explain the formation of the latter. But the hypothesis of the formation of naphtha from vegetabledébrisinevitably assumes coal to be the chief element of decomposition, and naphtha is met with in Pennsylvania and Canada, in the Silurian and Devonian strata, which do not contain coal, and correspond to an epoch not abounding in organic matter. Coal was formed from the vegetabledébrisof the Carboniferous, Jurassic, and other recent strata, but judging more from its composition and structure, it has been subjected to the same kind of decomposition as peat; nor could liquid hydrocarbons have been thus formed to such an extent as we see in naphtha. If we ascribe the derivation of naphtha to the decomposition of fat (adipose, animal fat) we encounter three almost insuperable difficulties: (1) Animal remains would furnish a great deal of nitrogenous matter, whilst there is but very little in naphtha; (2) the enormous quantity of naphtha already discovered as compared with the insignificant amount of fat in the animal carcase; (3) the sources of naphtha always running parallel to mountain chains is completely inexplicable. Being struck with this last-mentioned circumstance in Pennsylvania, and finding that the sources in the Caucasus surround the whole Caucasian range (Baku, Tiflis, Gouria, Kouban, Tamman, Groznoe, Dagestan), I developed in 1876 the hypothesis of the mineral origin of naphtha expounded further on.
[56]As during the process of the dry distillation of wood, sea-weed, and similar vegetabledébris, and also when fats are decomposed by the action of heat (in closed vessels), hydrocarbons similar to those of naphtha are formed, it was natural that this fact should have been turned to account to explain the formation of the latter. But the hypothesis of the formation of naphtha from vegetabledébrisinevitably assumes coal to be the chief element of decomposition, and naphtha is met with in Pennsylvania and Canada, in the Silurian and Devonian strata, which do not contain coal, and correspond to an epoch not abounding in organic matter. Coal was formed from the vegetabledébrisof the Carboniferous, Jurassic, and other recent strata, but judging more from its composition and structure, it has been subjected to the same kind of decomposition as peat; nor could liquid hydrocarbons have been thus formed to such an extent as we see in naphtha. If we ascribe the derivation of naphtha to the decomposition of fat (adipose, animal fat) we encounter three almost insuperable difficulties: (1) Animal remains would furnish a great deal of nitrogenous matter, whilst there is but very little in naphtha; (2) the enormous quantity of naphtha already discovered as compared with the insignificant amount of fat in the animal carcase; (3) the sources of naphtha always running parallel to mountain chains is completely inexplicable. Being struck with this last-mentioned circumstance in Pennsylvania, and finding that the sources in the Caucasus surround the whole Caucasian range (Baku, Tiflis, Gouria, Kouban, Tamman, Groznoe, Dagestan), I developed in 1876 the hypothesis of the mineral origin of naphtha expounded further on.
[57]During the upheaval of mountain ranges crevasses would be formed at the peaks with openings upwards, and at the foot of the mountains with openings downwards. These cracks in course of time fill up, but the younger the mountains the fresher the cracks (the Alleghany mountains are, without doubt, more ancient than the Caucasian, which were formed during the tertiary epoch); through them water must gain access deep into the recesses of the earth to an extent that could not occur on the level (on plains). The situation of naphtha at the foot of mountain chains is the principal argument in my hypothesis.Another fundamental reason is the consideration of the mean density of the earth. Cavendish, Airy, Cornu, Boys, and many others who have investigated the subject by various methods, found that, taking water = 1, the mean density of the earth is nearly 5·5. As at the surface water and all rocks (sand, clay, limestone, granite, &c.) have a density less than 3, it is evident (as solid substances are but slightly compressible even under the greatest pressure) that inside the earth there are substances of a greater density—indeed, not less than 7 or 8. What conclusion, then, can be arrived at? Anything heavy contained in the bosom of the earth must be distributed not only on its surface, but throughout the whole solar system, for everything tends to show that the sun and planets are formed from the same material, and according to the hypothesis of Laplace and Kant it is most probable, and indeed must necessarily be held, that the earth and planets are but fragments of the solar atmosphere, which have had time to cool considerably and become masses semi-liquid inside and solid outside, forming both planets and satellites. The sun amongst other heavy elements contains a great deal of iron, as shown by spectrum analysis. There is also much of it in an oxidised condition on the surface of the earth. Meteoric stones, carried as fragmentary planets in the solar system and sometimes falling upon the earth, consisting of siliceous rocks similar to terrestrial ones, often contain either dense masses of iron (for example, the Pallosovo iron preserved in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences) or granular masses (for instance, the Okhansk meteorite of 1886). It is therefore possible that the interior of the earth contains much iron in a metallic state. This might be anticipated from the hypothesis of Laplace, for the iron must have been compressed into a liquid at that period when the other component parts of the earth were still strongly heated, and oxides of iron could not then have been formed. The iron was covered with slags (mixtures of silicates like glass fused with rocky matter) which did not allow it to burn at the expense of the oxygen of the atmosphere or of water, just at that time when the temperature of the earth was very high. Carbon was in the same state; its oxides were also capable of dissociation (Deville); it is also but slightly volatile, and has an affinity for iron, and iron carbide is found in meteoric stones (as well as carbon and even the diamond). Thus the supposition of the existence of iron carbides in the interior of the earth was derived by me from many indications, which are to some extent confirmed by the fact that granular pieces of iron have been found in some basalts (ancient lava) as well as in meteoric stones. The occurrence of iron in contact with carbon during the formation of the earth is all the more probable because those elements predominate in nature which have small atomic weights, and among them the most widely diffused, the most difficultly fusible, and therefore the most easily condensed (Chapter XV.) are carbon and iron. They passed into the liquid state when all compounds were at a temperature of dissociation.
[57]During the upheaval of mountain ranges crevasses would be formed at the peaks with openings upwards, and at the foot of the mountains with openings downwards. These cracks in course of time fill up, but the younger the mountains the fresher the cracks (the Alleghany mountains are, without doubt, more ancient than the Caucasian, which were formed during the tertiary epoch); through them water must gain access deep into the recesses of the earth to an extent that could not occur on the level (on plains). The situation of naphtha at the foot of mountain chains is the principal argument in my hypothesis.
Another fundamental reason is the consideration of the mean density of the earth. Cavendish, Airy, Cornu, Boys, and many others who have investigated the subject by various methods, found that, taking water = 1, the mean density of the earth is nearly 5·5. As at the surface water and all rocks (sand, clay, limestone, granite, &c.) have a density less than 3, it is evident (as solid substances are but slightly compressible even under the greatest pressure) that inside the earth there are substances of a greater density—indeed, not less than 7 or 8. What conclusion, then, can be arrived at? Anything heavy contained in the bosom of the earth must be distributed not only on its surface, but throughout the whole solar system, for everything tends to show that the sun and planets are formed from the same material, and according to the hypothesis of Laplace and Kant it is most probable, and indeed must necessarily be held, that the earth and planets are but fragments of the solar atmosphere, which have had time to cool considerably and become masses semi-liquid inside and solid outside, forming both planets and satellites. The sun amongst other heavy elements contains a great deal of iron, as shown by spectrum analysis. There is also much of it in an oxidised condition on the surface of the earth. Meteoric stones, carried as fragmentary planets in the solar system and sometimes falling upon the earth, consisting of siliceous rocks similar to terrestrial ones, often contain either dense masses of iron (for example, the Pallosovo iron preserved in the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences) or granular masses (for instance, the Okhansk meteorite of 1886). It is therefore possible that the interior of the earth contains much iron in a metallic state. This might be anticipated from the hypothesis of Laplace, for the iron must have been compressed into a liquid at that period when the other component parts of the earth were still strongly heated, and oxides of iron could not then have been formed. The iron was covered with slags (mixtures of silicates like glass fused with rocky matter) which did not allow it to burn at the expense of the oxygen of the atmosphere or of water, just at that time when the temperature of the earth was very high. Carbon was in the same state; its oxides were also capable of dissociation (Deville); it is also but slightly volatile, and has an affinity for iron, and iron carbide is found in meteoric stones (as well as carbon and even the diamond). Thus the supposition of the existence of iron carbides in the interior of the earth was derived by me from many indications, which are to some extent confirmed by the fact that granular pieces of iron have been found in some basalts (ancient lava) as well as in meteoric stones. The occurrence of iron in contact with carbon during the formation of the earth is all the more probable because those elements predominate in nature which have small atomic weights, and among them the most widely diffused, the most difficultly fusible, and therefore the most easily condensed (Chapter XV.) are carbon and iron. They passed into the liquid state when all compounds were at a temperature of dissociation.
[58]The following is the typical equation for this formation:3FemCn+ 4mH2O =mFe3O4(magnetic oxide) + C5nH8m(seeChapter XVII., Note 38).
[58]The following is the typical equation for this formation:
3FemCn+ 4mH2O =mFe3O4(magnetic oxide) + C5nH8m(seeChapter XVII., Note 38).
[59]Cloez investigated the hydrocarbons formed when cast-iron is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and found CnH2nand others. I treated crystalline manganiferous cast-iron with the same acid, and obtained a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons exactly similar to natural naphtha in taste, smell, and reaction.
[59]Cloez investigated the hydrocarbons formed when cast-iron is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and found CnH2nand others. I treated crystalline manganiferous cast-iron with the same acid, and obtained a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons exactly similar to natural naphtha in taste, smell, and reaction.
[60]Probably naphtha was produced during the upheaval of all mountain chains, but only in some cases were the conditions favourable to its being preserved underground. The water penetrating below formed there a mixture of naphtha and watery vapours, and this mixture issued through fissures to the cold parts of the earth's crust. The naphtha vapours, on condensing, formed naphtha, which, if there were no obstacles, appeared on the surface of land and water. Here part of it soaked through formations (possibly the bituminous slates, schists, dolomites, &c., were thus formed), another part was carried away on the water, became oxidised, evaporated, and was driven to the shores (the Caucasian naphtha probably in this way, during the existence of the Aralo-Caspian sea, was carried as far as the Sisran banks of the Volga, where many strata are impregnated with naphtha and products of its oxidation resembling asphalt and pitch); a great part of it was burnt in one way or another—that is, gave carbonic anhydride and water. If the mixture of vapours, water, and naphtha formed inside the earth had no free outlet to the surface, it nevertheless would find its way through fissures to the superior and colder strata, and there become condensed. Some of the formations (clays) which do not absorb naphtha were only washed away by the warm water, and formed mud, which we also now observe issuing from the earth in the form of mud volcanoes. The neighbourhood of Baku and the whole of the Caucasus near the naphtha districts are full of such volcanoes, which from time to time are in a state of eruption. In old naphtha beds (such as the Pennsylvanian) even these blow-holes are closed, and the mud volcanoes have had time to be washed away. The naphtha and the gaseous hydrocarbons formed with it under the pressure of the overlying earth and water impregnated the layers of sand, which are capable of absorbing a great quantity of such liquid, and if above this there were strata impermeable to naphtha (dense, clayey, damp strata) the naphtha would accumulate in them. It is thus preserved from remote geological periods up to the present day, compressed and dissolved under the pressure of the gases which burst out in places forming naphtha fountains. If this be granted, it may be thought that in the comparatively new (geologically speaking) mountain chains, such as the Caucasian, naphtha is even now being formed. Such a supposition may explain the remarkable fact that, in Pennsylvania, localities where naphtha had been rapidly worked for five years have become exhausted, and it becomes necessary to constantly have recourse to sinking new wells in fresh places. Thus, from the year 1859, the workings were gradually transferred along a line running parallel to the Alleghany mountains for a distance of more than 200 miles, whilst in Baku the industry dates from time immemorial (the Persians worked near the village of Ballaghana) and up to the present time keeps to one and the same place. The amounts of the Pennsylvanian and Baku annual outputs are at present equal—namely, about 250 million poods (4 million tons). It may be that the Baku beds, as being of more recent geological formation, are not so exhausted by nature as those of Pennsylvania, and perhaps in the neighbourhood of Baku naphtha is still being formed, which is partially indicated by the continued activity of the mud volcanoes. As many varieties of naphtha contain in solution solid slightly volatile hydrocarbons like paraffin and mineral wax, the production of ozocerite, or mountain wax, is accounted for in conjunction with the formation of naphtha. Ozocerite is found in Galicia, also in the neighbourhood of Novorossisk, in the Caucasus, and on the islands of the Caspian Sea (particularly in the Chileken and Holy Islands); it is met with in large masses, and is used for the production of paraffin andceresene, for the manufacture of candles, and similar purposes.As the naphtha treasures of the Caucasus have hardly been exploited (near Baku and near Kouban and Grosnyi), and as naphtha finds numerous uses, the subject presents most interesting features to chemists and geologists, and is worthy of the close attention of practical men.
[60]Probably naphtha was produced during the upheaval of all mountain chains, but only in some cases were the conditions favourable to its being preserved underground. The water penetrating below formed there a mixture of naphtha and watery vapours, and this mixture issued through fissures to the cold parts of the earth's crust. The naphtha vapours, on condensing, formed naphtha, which, if there were no obstacles, appeared on the surface of land and water. Here part of it soaked through formations (possibly the bituminous slates, schists, dolomites, &c., were thus formed), another part was carried away on the water, became oxidised, evaporated, and was driven to the shores (the Caucasian naphtha probably in this way, during the existence of the Aralo-Caspian sea, was carried as far as the Sisran banks of the Volga, where many strata are impregnated with naphtha and products of its oxidation resembling asphalt and pitch); a great part of it was burnt in one way or another—that is, gave carbonic anhydride and water. If the mixture of vapours, water, and naphtha formed inside the earth had no free outlet to the surface, it nevertheless would find its way through fissures to the superior and colder strata, and there become condensed. Some of the formations (clays) which do not absorb naphtha were only washed away by the warm water, and formed mud, which we also now observe issuing from the earth in the form of mud volcanoes. The neighbourhood of Baku and the whole of the Caucasus near the naphtha districts are full of such volcanoes, which from time to time are in a state of eruption. In old naphtha beds (such as the Pennsylvanian) even these blow-holes are closed, and the mud volcanoes have had time to be washed away. The naphtha and the gaseous hydrocarbons formed with it under the pressure of the overlying earth and water impregnated the layers of sand, which are capable of absorbing a great quantity of such liquid, and if above this there were strata impermeable to naphtha (dense, clayey, damp strata) the naphtha would accumulate in them. It is thus preserved from remote geological periods up to the present day, compressed and dissolved under the pressure of the gases which burst out in places forming naphtha fountains. If this be granted, it may be thought that in the comparatively new (geologically speaking) mountain chains, such as the Caucasian, naphtha is even now being formed. Such a supposition may explain the remarkable fact that, in Pennsylvania, localities where naphtha had been rapidly worked for five years have become exhausted, and it becomes necessary to constantly have recourse to sinking new wells in fresh places. Thus, from the year 1859, the workings were gradually transferred along a line running parallel to the Alleghany mountains for a distance of more than 200 miles, whilst in Baku the industry dates from time immemorial (the Persians worked near the village of Ballaghana) and up to the present time keeps to one and the same place. The amounts of the Pennsylvanian and Baku annual outputs are at present equal—namely, about 250 million poods (4 million tons). It may be that the Baku beds, as being of more recent geological formation, are not so exhausted by nature as those of Pennsylvania, and perhaps in the neighbourhood of Baku naphtha is still being formed, which is partially indicated by the continued activity of the mud volcanoes. As many varieties of naphtha contain in solution solid slightly volatile hydrocarbons like paraffin and mineral wax, the production of ozocerite, or mountain wax, is accounted for in conjunction with the formation of naphtha. Ozocerite is found in Galicia, also in the neighbourhood of Novorossisk, in the Caucasus, and on the islands of the Caspian Sea (particularly in the Chileken and Holy Islands); it is met with in large masses, and is used for the production of paraffin andceresene, for the manufacture of candles, and similar purposes.
As the naphtha treasures of the Caucasus have hardly been exploited (near Baku and near Kouban and Grosnyi), and as naphtha finds numerous uses, the subject presents most interesting features to chemists and geologists, and is worthy of the close attention of practical men.