Gasification, graphite

A combination of controlled atmosphere electron microscopy and flow reactor techniques have been used to investigate the influence of hydrogen sulfide on the catalytic activity of cobalt. Changes in the behavior of cobalt were monitored by the use of probe reactions which are sensitive to the chemical nature of the catalyst surface. These included graphite gasification in oxygen and hydrogen, and carbon deposition from decomposition of hydrocarbons. 

Alkali carbonates such as sodium carbonate and potassium carbonate were studied intensively during early gasification research prior to World War II. White and Fox (2) noted that sodium carbonate increased graphite gasification rates, increased net gas yields and altered the gas product distribution in favor of carbon monoxide and hydrogen over carbon dioxide and methane. 

Subsequent graphite gasification research by White and his group (3,4) found potassium carbonate to be an excellent catalyst at an optimum proportion of 20 percent (by weight) of the carbonaceous fuel feed. White and Weiss (3J noted that alkali carbonates also catalyzed the water-gas shift reaction when steam was injected during gasification ... 

Tuddenham and Hill (7S) investigated the effect of addition of cobalt, iron, nickel, and vanadium to spectroscopic graphite on its gasification with... 

Catalytic gasification of graphite. Electron microscopy. Channel propagation. 

The failure to find evidence for intercalation compound intermediates in steam gasification indicates the importance of sigma, rather than pi, electrons in the reaction, and is consistent with the view of the importance of the attack by gaseous molecules on the edges of graphite planes (39). 

Mckee, D. W., Effect of metallic impurities on the gasification of graphite in water vapor and hydrogen. Carbon 12 (1974) pp.453-464. 

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