Carbon gasification in the presence of metal catalysts

• Published in: Fuel (Guildford) 1974-10, Vol.53 (4), p.274-279
• Main Authors: Rewick, Robert T., Wentrcek, Paul R., Wise, Henry
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0016-2361; 1873-7153
• DOI: 10.1016/0016-2361(74)90048-9

The development of new processes for the production of gaseous fuels from carbon-containing solids is essential in meeting the energy needs of the nation. In this paper, catalysed carbon gasification is examined. The change in the reactivity of the interface between gaseous reactant (hydrogen or steam) and solid carbon has been measured in the presence of various metal catalysts. With platinum it is found that over a range of temperatures the specific rate of methane production is of the same magnitude as the rate of hydrogen atomization. The catalytic effect is interpretable in terms of an enhanced rate of hydrogen dissociation on the metal surface, followed by surface diffusion across the metal/carbon interface and reaction with carbon. The gas formation rate during the interaction of water vapour with catalyst-activated carbons has been increased by more than an order of magnitude by depositing small weight fractions of active metal catalyst on the carbon surface. At the temperatures employed in this study (975–1175 K), carbon monoxide and hydrogen are the products of the catalysed reaction for each of the catalysts examined.