It had also been known for a long time that inflammable gases could be produced from most combustible materials, such as coal and wood, through the process of distillation.
The lightning storm has started a forest fire, which is spreading fast towards them, and in the 35%-oxygen air vegetation is much more inflammable than in modern air.
Subsequent publications have disclosed methods of conducting the synthesis of pentasil-zeolites without requiring the very expensive, toxic and easily inflammable organic amine templates.
