The conversion of natural gas to acetylene : factors in the design of discharge tubes

Under the direction of Dr. E. P. Schoch, work has been in progress since 1931 on the chemical effect of various types of electric discharges on natural gas of high methane content. The goal is the utilization of the vast quantities of natural gas wasted in the oil fields of Texas. ... This dissertation presents part of the work done with direct current at higher power made available by the purchase of a thyratron rectifier. ... Joe C. Krejci, Jack Steele, and the writer worked with tubes thru which the gas was blown longitudinally from cathode to anode. ... In the writer's paper, the results obtained with three tubes of different dimensions are compared with the object of arriving at the best tube design. The results of a study of the characteristics of the discharge are also given