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First Naphthometers to Determine the Flash Point of Liquids: III.1 Vapor Testers

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Abstract

The American oil revolution of 1859 and the invention of a kerosene lamp contributed to the onset of the kerosene era when candle lighting was replaced by kerosene. The side effect of this was the growth of fires and explosions due to the use of unsafe kerosene. There was a need to develop criteria for safe kerosene. The fire (burning) and flash point of kerosene were chosen as such indicators. The first stage of creating instruments to determine these indicators began in 1862 and ended at the beginning of the 20th century. This stage is characterized by the development of apparatuses of various designs, among them were vapor testers. The first naphthometers (Salleron-Urbain, Vander Weyde, Blair, Meusel, Byasson, Geissler, Liebermann, Stoddard, Beilstein, Mack, Bernstein, Braun, Wright, Meyer, Meyer–Hörler, Haass, Abelianz and Bradley–Hale) are considered in the article. These devices have not survived to our days and are undeservedly forgotten, however, the ideas embodied in their principle of operation are being successfully used at present.

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Notes

  1. In the 1860–1920s, the following terms: naphthometer, device, apparatus, pyrometer and tester for determination of the flash point (ignition), were considered synonymous. This approach has been maintained in the present paper.

  2. In the report prepared by the special agent of the United States Census Bureau of Department of the Interior, S.F. Peckham, in 1885, it is mentioned that the first experiments to determine the flash point in the United States were conducted by professor N.P. Hill and his assistant Allen at Brown University in 1861 [18]. However, he does not provide any description of the Hill–Allen tester or any reference to the source containing the results of the Hill and Allen study.

  3. In the report [20], another classification of vapor naphthometers is given: closed vapor-pressure testers and open or closed testers with saturated vapor. According to the authors, it cannot be considered convenient, since it does not fully reflect the principle of their work.

  4. The indicator for the fire and explosion hazard of the LEL originates from the work of the English chemist Sir Humphry Davy concerning the research of mine gas and the creation of a safe oil lamp for miners [22–24]. Until the end of the 19th century, studies to determine the explosive limit were mainly related to nothing but combustible gases, so the term explosive limits was originally called the explosivity limits and when assessing the fire and explosion hazard of kerosene and other flammable and combustible liquids, as well as when classifying flammable and combustible liquids, it was not used [3–6].

  5. At the time of the invention of the Blair device, the limit for safe kerosene in Pennsylvania, state of the US, where the inventor lived, was not 100, but 110°F [35]. Apparently, J. Blair was guided by the British limit of 100°F [9], since in the 19th century the British Empire was the main importer of American kerosene.

  6. Heating by means of an air bath was also permitted [49].

  7. Subsequently, Stoddard conducted a series of additional experiments to eliminate these remarks [61].

  8. In the description and in the drawing of the device [87, 88], it is not stated which method for excessive pressure release is used therein (a safety valve or a permanently open hole).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Engineering Center “Reliability and Resource of Large Systems and Machines”, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 620049, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    S. G. Alexeev & K. A. Zaripova

  2. Ural Institute of the State Fire Service of EMERCOM of Russia, 620062, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    V. V. Smirnov

  3. Ural State Agrarian University, 620075, Yekaterinburg, Russia

    N. M. Barbin

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Translated from Rossiiskii Khimicheskii Zhurnal, 2019, Vol. 63, No. 1, pp. 71–85 https://doi.org/10.6060/rcj.2019631.5.

For communication II, see [1].

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Alexeev, S.G., Smirnov, V.V., Zaripova, K.A. et al. First Naphthometers to Determine the Flash Point of Liquids: III.1 Vapor Testers. Russ J Gen Chem 91, 1157–1170 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1070363221060281

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