Water.
C + 2H2O = CO2 + 4H2
And the carbon dioxide so produced interacts with more red-hot carbon,
forming the lower oxide--carbon monoxide:
CO2 + C = 2CO
So that the completed reaction may be looked upon as yielding a
mixture of equal volumes of hydrogen and carbon monoxide, both of them
inflammable but non-luminous flames. This decomposition, however, is
rarely completed, and a certain proportion of carbon dioxide is
invariably to be found in the water gas, which, in practice, generally
consists of a mixture of about this composition:
WATER GAS.
Hydrogen 48.31
Carbon monoxide 35.93
Carbon dioxide 4.25
Nitrogen 8.75
Methane 1.05
Sulphureted hydrogen 1.20
Oxygen 0.51
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100.00
The above is an analysis of water gas made from ordinary gas coke in a
Van Steenbergh generator.
The ratio of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide present entirely
depends upon the temperature of the generator, and the kind of
carbonaceous matter employed. With a hard, dense anthracite coal, for
instance, it is quite possible to attain a temperature at which there
is practically no carbon dioxide produced, while with an ordinary form
of generator and a loose fuel like coke, a large proportion of carbon
dioxide is generally to be found.
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