Iron, Steam

Fig. 43. A setup for producing hydrogen by the iron-steam method...

FIGURE 16.8 These three artifacts represent the progress that has been made in the extraction of d-metals. (a) An ancient bronze chariot axle cap from China made from an alloy of metals that are easy to extract, (b) An early iron steam engine made from a metal that was moderately easy to extract once high temperatures could be achieved, (c) A twentieth-century airplane engine with titanium components that had to await high temperatures and advanced technology before the element became widely available. 

Vessels and pipes for concentrated nitric acid are made of pure aluminium. Those for sulphuric acid, oleum and the mixture of acids are made of iron. Steam pipes must be laid close to oleum pipes and the whole should be coated with thermal insulation. In this way the oleum pipes are heated, thus preventing the oleum from freezing in winter. 

Partial Oxidation Koppers-Totzek Process Electrolysis Steam Iron Steam Reforming... 

In operations at I. G. Farbenindustrie, Leverkusen/ 250 kg (1.63 moles) o-nitroanisole and 1 kg 50 per cent sodium hydroxide solution are delivered to a cast-iron steam-jacketed 1,000-liter reducer. The temperature of the charge is raised to 75 C, and at regular intervals during a 24-hr period there are added concurrently 235 kg of zinc dust (90 per cent 3.3 moles) in 2.5-kg... 

One production line of a paper mill consists according the size and the quality of the produced paper sometimes from more than 50 steam drums to dry and flatten the produced paper. These drums (cylinders with flat bottoms, see figure 1) will be used with a steam pressure up to 500 kPa (5 bar) and additionally with a rotation speed up 1200 m.min the material is mainly grey cast iron (with lamellar graphite). The diameters can reach up to 2.2 m and the cylindrical lengths up to 10 m. For the specific flattening drums the cyhndrical diameters can be up to 5 m and more. 

A fatal accident and some other disasters, which were caused by small cracks, lead to a more strict consideration of the security of these steam drums. Parallel to these the economical pressure, due to the globalisation of the today s industry, lead to the increase of the pressure and the rotation speed of the paper production machines for a higher output of the production, which means, that all safety aspects from the design and the material will be exploited totally. On the other hand cast iron is also not a ductile and comfortable material, like the most steels for the pressure equipment. 

Based on our practical experiences in the applieation of AE on pressure equipments since 1979, we started in the year 1994 to apply AE on steam drums in combination with pneumatic tests. Before we are able to do this, we have to perform extensive lab tests with the specific material (grey cast iron and cast steel) from which these drums are produced. 

Evidence for the solvated electron e (aq) can be obtained reaction of sodium vapour with ice in the complete absence of air at 273 K gives a blue colour (cf. the reaction of sodium with liquid ammonia, p. 126). Magnesium, zinc and iron react with steam at elevated temperatures to yield hydrogen, and a few metals, in the presence of air, form a surface layer of oxide or hydroxide, for example iron, lead and aluminium. These reactions are more fully considered under the respective metals. Water is not easily oxidised but fluorine and chlorine are both capable of liberating oxygen ... 

Iron combines with most non-metals on heating, and forms the oxides Fe203 and (mainly) Fej04 when heated in air above 430 K. Steam above 8(X) K produces the oxide Fe304 and hydrogen. Iron dissolves in most dilute acids, giving iron(II) solutions, i.e. 

For temperatures up to 100°, a water bath or steam bath is generally employed. The simplest form is a beaker or an enamelled iron vessel mounted on a suitable stand water is placed in the vessel, which is heated by means of a flame. This arrangement may be used for non-inflammable liquids or for refluxing liquids of low boiling point. Since numerous liquids of low boiling point are highly inflammable, the presence of a naked flame will introduce considerable risk of fire. For such liquids a steam bath or an electrically-heated water bath, provided with a constant-level device, must be used. If the laboratory is equipped with a... 

Attention is directed to the fact that ether is highly inflammable and also extremely volatile (b.p. 35°), and great care should be taken that there is no naked flame in the vicinity of the liquid (see Section 11,14). Under no circumstances should ether be distilled over a bare flame, but always from a steam bath or an electrically-heated water bath (Fig.//, 5,1), and with a highly efficient double surface condenser. In the author s laboratory a special lead-covered bench is set aside for distillations with ether and other inflammable solvents. The author s ether still consists of an electrically-heated water bath (Fig. 11, 5, 1), fitted with the usual concentric copper rings two 10-inch double surface condensers (Davies type) are suitably supported on stands with heavy iron bases, and a bent adaptor is fitted to the second condenser furthermost from the water bath. The flask containing the ethereal solution is supported on the water bath, a short fractionating column or a simple bent still head is fitted into the neck of the flask, and the stUl head is connected to the condensers by a cork the recovered ether is collected in a vessel of appropriate size. 

This reaction is first conducted on a chromium-promoted iron oxide catalyst in the high temperature shift (HTS) reactor at about 370°C at the inlet. This catalyst is usually in the form of 6 x 6-mm or 9.5 x 9.5-mm tablets, SV about 4000 h . Converted gases are cooled outside of the HTS by producing steam or heating boiler feed water and are sent to the low temperature shift (LTS) converter at about 200—215°C to complete the water gas shift reaction. The LTS catalyst is a copper—zinc oxide catalyst supported on alumina. CO content of the effluent gas is usually 0.1—0.25% on a dry gas basis and has a 14°C approach to equihbrium, ie, an equihbrium temperature 14°C higher than actual, and SV about 4000 h . Operating at as low a temperature as possible is advantageous because of the more favorable equihbrium constants. The product gas from this section contains about 77% H2, 18% CO2, 0.30% CO, and 4.7% CH. ... 

Metal—Water Processes. The steam-iron process, one of the oldest methods to produce hydrogen, iavolves the reaction of steam and spongy iron at 870°C. Hydrogen and iron oxide are formed. These then react further with water gas to recover iron. Water gas is produced by reaction of coal with steam and air. 

In 1974 a 1000 t/d ammonia plant went into operation near Johaimesburg, South Africa. The lignitic (subbituminous) coal used there contains about 14% ash, 36% volatile matter, and 1% sulfur. The plant has six Koppers-Totzek low pressure, high temperature gasifiers. Refrigerated methanol (—38° C, 3.0 MPa (30 atm)) is used to remove H2S. A 58% CO mixture reacts with steam over an iron catalyst to produce H2. The carbon dioxide is removed with methanol (at —58° C and 5.2 MPa (51 atm)). Ammonia synthesis is carried out at ca 22 MPa (220 atm) (53) (see Ammonia). 

The first-stage catalysts for the oxidation to methacrolein are based on complex mixed metal oxides of molybdenum, bismuth, and iron, often with the addition of cobalt, nickel, antimony, tungsten, and an alkaU metal. Process optimization continues to be in the form of incremental improvements in catalyst yield and lifetime. Typically, a dilute stream, 5—10% of isobutylene tert-huty alcohol) in steam (10%) and air, is passed over the catalyst at 300—420°C. Conversion is often nearly quantitative, with selectivities to methacrolein ranging from 85% to better than 95% (114—118). Often there is accompanying selectivity to methacrylic acid of an additional 2—5%. A patent by Mitsui Toatsu Chemicals reports selectivity to methacrolein of better than 97% at conversions of 98.7% for a yield of methacrolein of nearly 96% (119). 

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