Syngas as a Feedstock

A convenient source of CO is in admixture with hydrogen when necessary both can then be used in the reaction. Mixtures of CO and H2 are referred to as syngas (synthesis gas) or water-gas from the involvement of water in its manufacture. 

One route to syngas is by steam-reforming methane, over a nickel catalyst at high temperature (Equation 3)  

As both reactions are quite strongly endothermic, they may be coupled to an exothermic partial oxidation (Equations 5 and 6)  

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