Looking for CaC2 in ton quantities (EU)

Quote: Originally posted by Herr Haber

Hi all, Yes, another topic about Calcium Carbide. The same people who supplied me with the carbide I'm offering to SM members are also looking for carbide by the ton / pallet / several drums. What seems now a long time ago several associations I've been involved with used to order carbide from China or Romania by pallet or even container. Customs have made this too complicated and expensive over time to get containers from China. Romania has stopped producing Calcium carbide. We're looking for suppliers within Europe. The carbide is to be used in carbide lamps / acetylene generators so any size and grade are acceptable. If you can supply or have a suggestion on where to look I will tranmit them.

Quote: Originally posted by SuperOxide

Just curious, what do they/you need so much CaC2 for?

To feed carbide lamps / generators.
Besides chemistry my main other hobby is "everything underground".
Despite the advent of electricity last century and the LED revolution at the begining of this century many people still use acetylene for light.

With it's high carbon content just one lamp with a 14L/h burner will give more light than a dozen candles. For many people it's not just "more light" but also a better, warmer light.

I'm in contact with two associations that have to storage capacity for many many tons. All of course veted by the fire department and located in non floodable areas
The idea, by getting such huge amount it to "postpone the problem" of not finding CaC2 anymore. It's been getting harder to find over the years and the prices have climbed a lot. These associations used to pool their resources together and get container space for carbide from China.
The thing is that for them INCOTERMS are a pain in the ass and they're only looking for sources within Europe now. FOB seems nice until the bills start to add up.
Right now I can go by carbide from a store for 18 Euros / 800 grams.
Years ago, through these associations used to sell it a 3.50/kg. It went up to 5.50 Euros.
The carbide I'm sending to SM members I traded for so price was irrelevant to me. I'm just happy if it helps members.

I will definitely look into the suggestions everyone gave me. Many thanks for these
We're used to 50kg, 70kg and 120kg drums and to be honest, demand is so high that even a ton would get repackaged and distributed in less than a week.
Asking SM community an opinion on this is really a "hail Mary". There are a lot of smart people between these two associations and I'd be surprised if I managed to find a supplier they didnt contact already and ruled out for some reason.

Suggestions are still welcome

@clearly_not_atara Well, I learnt a lot researching those compounds and it certainly would be poetic to use a chemical that has such ties to stone !
But it would be very impractical. Anything more than splitting drums between buyers, weighting and putting into HDPE buckets is beyond what they can do.
Ah... if only I had an arc furnace and a nuclear plant...

@Fantasma4500
The people in these associations imported containers so the paperwork / professional aspect isnt a problem Maybe someone in Holland still has a few drums. It would be interesting to see the cost.
I've seen a couple of those crow cannons over the years. They are a thing of the past, as are carbide lamps, but they are pretty ingenious. The one I liked the most just worked by building up pressure which would activate a piezo spark thingie at the moment the gas was released.