What is calcium carbide?

calcium carbide is a chemical compound containing calcium and carbide, with a chemical formula CAC _{2 . Pure calcium carbide is colorless, but most of the material is produced industrially and is somewhat unclean, which gives it a black or grayish white color depending on quality. The main use of calcium carbide is the production of flammable gas acetylene.}

It is necessary to produce calcium carbide industrially, because it does not naturally occur in large quantities. Very high temperatures are necessary to produce material, the order of 3630 degrees Fahrenheit (2000 ° C). It is produced in the type of furnace called an electric arc furnace that can reach temperatures much warmer than those that are obtained by simple combustion. The basic chemical process used to produce the material has not changed since it was discovered in 1888. This is the main modern use of calcium carbide. Countries like China use as an industrial PAliva a large amount of acetylene, mainly because it is cheaper to produce and use on the domestic market than to import oil for the same purpose. Surprisingly, acetylene can also be used to accelerate fruit maturation in the same way as ethylene is used.

Further use of calcium carbide is in the production of some types of fertilizers. Calcium cyanamide is one of them and is produced when calcium carbide reacts with nitrogen at high temperatures. Some steel production processes also require the use of calcium carbide.

One of the older uses of this material was a device called a carbide lamp. It was a type of lamp that used the fact that water and calcium carbide react together to make acetylene. This lamps were used in mines starting at the end of the 19th century. The open flame produced by a burning acetylene in the lamp excluded its use in coal mines, but miners tin, copper and slate were able to benefit from Jeho use.

Carbide lamps were also used as beacons of beacons and even as headlights in cars and wheels. Their use is rare today and is limited mainly to cave hunting and exploration, and even better lighting options are usually available. It is important to note that the acetylene produced when calcium carbide comes into contact with water is a highly flammable and potentially explosive gas, and safety measures need to be taken.