Science: Safe Gas

At West Babylon, N. Y., experimenters announced the development of a new illuminating gas. The raw material used: crude oil or refinery residuum. The product: a hydrogen and carbon combination containing no carbon monoxide because manufactured at low temperatures. The product’s qualities : non-asphyxiating because void of carbon monoxide ; content of 1,600 British thermal (heat) units as against 525 to 585 units in most illuminating gases. From 7 gal. of refinery residuum are produced 1,000 cu. ft. of the new gas and a by-product of 1½ gal. of gasoline high in ethylene content (40% to 50%). The inventor: one Dr. O. U. Bean, inventor also of the Bunsen furnace.