Town gas was primarily a 50/50 mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Sometimes, methane was added/created from the gasification process (which increases the energy density) but pure methane wasn’t commonly used until the 50s-60s when, like you said, natural gas began being drilled.
One advantage is that it’s also significantly less toxic than town gas, which is why Sylvia Plath-ing yourself is no longer really a thing.
Fast_Dare2041 t1_j6eptkh wrote
Reply to comment by The_Pip in TIL the first traffic signal, erected in London in 1868, was powered by gas. A gas leak caused it to explode a month later. by itsjonzo
Town gas was primarily a 50/50 mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. Sometimes, methane was added/created from the gasification process (which increases the energy density) but pure methane wasn’t commonly used until the 50s-60s when, like you said, natural gas began being drilled.
One advantage is that it’s also significantly less toxic than town gas, which is why Sylvia Plath-ing yourself is no longer really a thing.