STA PT HP 3

Application: Coal gasification A well-known application for high-temperature TG-DSC measurements is the investigation of so-called coal gasification or hydrogasification. This process, in which carbon is heated in a water vapor atmosphere, is used in some catalytic processes, for example to remove carbon monoxide (CO) from exhaust gases and in particular to extract valuable organic compounds from resources such as charcoal or biomass. The entire process can be described as follows: Charcoal or the carbon parts of biomass react at higher temperatures (C + H₂O CO + H₂) with water vapor to form a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This process can be carried out with or without additional oxygen. If an oxygen-containing atmosphere is used, you will additionally obtain carbon monoxide according to (C + O₂ CO₂, followed by C + CO₂ 2 CO). The third equation shows, regardless of whether you use oxygen or not, the reaction of carbon monoxide with water to get more hydrogen (CO + H₂O CO₂ + H₂). In the end, you get a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These two gases are involved in chemical equilibria, and therefore it is sometimes also interesting to know how much pressure you have in your system, as the pressure determines which side of the equation the equilibrium is on. After all, the purpose of coal gasification is to produce methanol and methane from the two resulting gases carbon monoxide and hydrogen (CO + 2 H₂ CH₃OH; CH₃OH + H₂ CH₄). This means that you can use this process to go from any type of carbon to the basic building block of almost all organic compounds (pharmaceuticals, polymers, oils, waxes, fatty acids, organic acids, etc.).