Carbon Monoxide

Facts about Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is best known as a toxic gas that is generated by the incomplete combustion of hydrocarbon fuels, including natural gas and gasoline. The chemical element symbol of Carbon Monoxide is simply CO.

How is Carbon Monoxide produced?

Carbon Monoxide is produced by improperly vented gas heaters and confined automobile exhaust fumes. The production of Carbon Monoxide by these methods is responsible for hundreds of accidental deaths in the United States each year.

Laboratory preparation of Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide can be prepared on a laboratory scale by a reaction between formic acid and concentrated sulfuric acid. The result is carbon monoxide gas and dilute sulfuric acid:

HCOOH + H₂S0₄  CO + H₂S0₄ . H20
(formic acid + sulfuric acid  carbon monoxide + dilute sulfuric acid)

You can substitute most other organic acids for formic acid, but the gas will be a mixture of CO and carbon dioxide (symbol C0₂).

Commercial Scale Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide is prepared on a commercial scale by passing superheated water vapor at 600 °C -1000 °C over carbon. The result is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas. The tricky part of this operation is making certain the temperature remains above 500 °C. The process is endothermic. In other words, the reaction absorbs heat energy and tends to cool its own environment; if the temperature is allowed to fall below 500 °C, the reaction yields carbon dioxide (C0₂) instead of carbon monoxide. This procedure is also used for producing large amounts of hydrogen gas. The resulting mixture is called water gas.