1.

How can the production of dihydrogen, obtained from .coal gasification. be increased ?

Answer»

Solution :(i) Electrolysis of acidified water using platinum electrodes gives hydrogen.
`2H_2O_((l)) underset"Traces of acid/base"overset"Electrolysis"to 2H_(2(g)) + O_(2(g))`
(ii) High purity (`gt`99.95 %) dihydrogen is obtained by electrolysing warm aqueous barium hydroxide solution between nickel electrodes.
(iii) It is obtained as a byproduct in the manufacture of sodium hydroxide and chlorine by the electrolysis of brine solution. During electrolysis, the reactions that take place are :
at anode : `2Cl_((aq))^(-) to Cl_(2(g)) + 2E^(-)`
at cathode : `2H_2O_((l)) + 2e^(-) to H_(2(g)) + 2OH_((aq))^(-)`
The overall REACTION is :
`{:(2Na_((aq))^(+)+ 2Cl_((aq))^(-) + 2H_2O_((l))),(""darr),(Cl_(2(g)) + H_(2(g)) + 2Na_((aq))^(+) + 2OH_((aq))^(-)):}`
(iv) Reaction of steam on hydrocarbons or coke at high temperatures in the presence of catalyst yields hydrogen.
`C_n H_(2n+2) + nH_2O underset"Ni"overset"1270 K"to nCO+(2n+1)H_2`
e.g. , `CH_(4(g)) + H_2O_((g)) underset"Ni"overset"1270 K"to ubrace(CO_((g))+3H_(2(g)))_("water gas ")`
The mixture of CO and `H_2` is called water gas. As this mixture of CO and `H_2` is used for the synthesis of methanol and a number of hydrocarbons, it is also called synthesis gas or .syngas..
Nowadays .syngas. is produced from sewage, saw-dust, scrap wood, NEWSPAPERS etc.
The process of producing .syngas. from coal is called .coal gasification..
`C_((s))+H_2O_((g)) overset"1270 K"to CO_((g)) + H_(2(g))`
The production of dihydrogen can be increased by reacting carbon monoxide of syngas mixtures with steam in the presence of iron chromate as catalyst.
`CO_((g))+ H_2O_((g)) underset"catalyst"overset"673 K"to CO_(2(g)) + H_(2(g))`
This is called water-gas shift reaction. Carbon dioxide is removed by scrubbing with sodium arsenite solution.
Presently - 77% of the industrial dihydrogen is produced from petrochemicals, 18% from coal, 4% from electrolysis of aqueous solutions and 1% from other sources.


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