Gasification of wood. Water (coke oven) gas Water gas

GAS DEHYDRATION

Chapter XV WATER CONTENT IN NATURAL GAS EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE

A gas field that does not contain oil is a gas cap above water. The gas from such a field is saturated with water vapor. Previously, a classification of gas fields was given based on the size of the gas-water contact. In fig. 62 shows a diagram of a field having!00% of the gas-water contact area.

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Fig. 62. Section of a field with 100% gas-water contact.

If the gas-water contact area is less than 100% of the gas-bearing area, over a long geological time due to Due to diffusion, the gas of the entire field is saturated with water vapor.

It was also believed that the amount of saturated water vapor per unit volume of air at constant temperature is inversely proportional to absolute pressure. The combined influence of pressure and temperature is expressed by numbers in tables available in technical reference books, in physics and thermodynamics courses, in books on steam boilers, etc.

Table 62 shows the water content in g in 1 m g air saturated with water vapor at different temperatures and different pressures.

Table 62

The table shows that at a temperature of 0 ° C and an absolute pressure of 1 metric atmosphere, saturated air contains 4.9 g of water, at a pressure of 10 ata- 0.49, at a pressure of 50 ata -

0.098, etc. The result is an exact inverse proportionality.

But all tables similar to table. 62 turned out to be incorrect. Only the figures relating to low pressures are correct.

There is no air in oil and gas fields, but they do contain natural gases, consisting mainly of methane and containing, in addition to methane, various other hydrocarbons, as well as some nitrogen and carbon dioxide.

Gases from limestone formations usually contain small amounts of hydrogen sulfide. In addition, there is always water in oil- and gas-bearing formations, and gases coming out of wells contain one or another percentage of water in the form of steam. Hydrocarbon gases saturated with water come out of many wells. The study of water content in gases of oil and gas fields turned out to be necessary for the correct exploitation of the fields.

When transporting and storing waste natural gas, when producing gasoline from it, during various other gas processing, when purifying gas from H 2 S and C0 2, when operating gas pipelines, etc., a detailed and accurate study of the water content in gas also turned out to be necessary .

Sometimes the water contained in the gas caused great difficulties when extracting gas and pumping it through gas pipelines. As the pressure decreased, the gas cooled and released liquid water, which sometimes turned into ice and clogged gas pipelines, gas meters, pressure regulators and various other devices. In the presence of water in gas pipelines, hydrocarbon hydrates appeared, clogging the gas pipelines.

STUDIES OF WATER CONTENT IN GASES

In 1927, E. P. Bartlett published an article G, which contains the results of his experiments on the absorption of water by hydrogen, nitrogen and a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen at high pressures. It turned out that hydrogen and nitrogen at high pressures absorb water in quantities 200% greater than indicated in the tables accepted in technology and industry.

In 1939, B. M. Laulheer and C. F. Braysko, in a report presented to the Pacific Coast Gas Association, outlined their research on the water content of natural gases in California. It turned out that at a pressure of 35 ata gas contains 30% more water than expected according to the tables,

In 1941, R. Wiebe and V. L. Gaddy studied the absorption of water by carbon dioxide (CO 2) at pressures up to 700 ati. At high pressures, the water content greatly exceeded the figures in the tables.

A detailed study of the issue of water content in natural gases was undertaken by the US Bureau of Mines. This study is not yet completed. Some of the research has been published.

Accurate data on the water content of natural gases was required to properly set up work at the US Bureau of Mines' helium plant in Amarillo in northwest Texas. This city is located near the large Pan Handle gas and oil field, which lies in the strata of the Permian system. The helium plant receives gas from the Cliffside Dome, containing about 1.7% helium. The high water content greatly interfered with the release of helium from the gas.

The water had to be removed before the gas was processed. The engineers of this plant, W. M. Deaton and E. M. Frost, produced helium in the laboratory

plant research on the water content in natural gases, air and helium.

The results of these studies were presented in the form of paper 3 at the American Gas Association convention on May 5-8, 1941 in Dallas, Texas.

The studies had sufficient accuracy. At different temperatures and different pressures, the water content in three gases saturated with water was determined. The composition of these gases is indicated in table. 63.

In this table gas A there is natural gas from the main Panhandle gas field, gas IN- gas from the Cliffside Dome of the Pan Handle region and gas C - California natural gas. studied by Lyaulkhir and Braysko.

NATURAL GAS DEW POINT

In fig. 63 shows a diagram of natural gas dew points A for different pressures. LogP 1? is plotted on the ordinate axes. and on the axis

abscissa 4-, where T- absolute temperature.

After constructing the diagram, temperature numbers were written in the usual notation on the abscissa axis against the corresponding divisions.

During the experiments that served as the basis for the compilation of Fig. 63, for each curve of the drawing, the temperature and pressure of water (or water vapor) were kept constant. Water was not added to or taken from the gas.

The molar concentration of water was constant for each individual curve.

Table 63

Composition of gases in °/o by volume

Examination of the resulting diagrams showed that at low pressures the dew point curves of natural gas correspond to the figures obtained from tables of water vapor pressure.

At elevated pressures, they begin to deviate from the numbers in the tables. At low pressures, these are straight lines. With increasing pressure, they bend upward.

Deviation from Boyle's law at high pressures further increases the discrepancy between actual data and generally accepted tables.

Fig. 63. Natural gas dew point curves.

The numbers on the curves indicate the amount of water in G in 1 m s gas

ACTUAL WATER CONTENT IN NATURAL GAS

For the natural gas industry, it is more convenient to use a diagram on which the curves of the water content in the gas are directly plotted at a given pressure and at a given temperature. Such a diagram is shown in Fig. 64. It was built as follows.

On the abscissa axis, divisions correspond to -y-, where T is absolute

temperature (Kelvin). On the ordinate axis, divisions correspond to lg w, Where w- the weight of water in a certain volume of gas. After constructing the diagram, temperature figures in the usual notation (Celsius) are placed on the abscissa axis.

Each curve is given for a specific constant pressure, and it can be seen how, at a given pressure, the maximum possible water content is affected by temperature.

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The higher the temperature, the more water the gas can contain. The effect of pressure can be seen by comparing several curves along a vertical line, i.e., at the same temperature. The higher the pressure, the less water a given gas can contain. At high pressures and low temperatures, the curves began to bend upward, but at a small scale of the drawing this is not visible on the diagram.

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Fig. 64 is given for natural gas A, which is close to Buguruslan gas from gas wells. In fig. 65 shows diagrams of the water content in three natural gases, air and helium. At high pressures, the water content in gases deviates from ordinary gases

laws and from generally accepted tables upward. With regard to high pressures, the figures in generally accepted tables are not suitable for either air or natural gases.

Under pressure 43 ata air saturated with water at a temperature of 37.8 ° C contains 15% more water than indicated in conventional tables, and at a temperature of 15.56 ° C - 24% more.

Natural hydrocarbon gases saturated with water contain more water than air under the same conditions, and different gases contain different amounts of water in the saturated state. Dry hydrocarbon gases absorb less water than gasoline-rich gases.

Increasing the nitrogen content of the gas reduces the gas's ability to absorb water. Natural gas A at 37.8° C in a state of saturation with water at 43 ata contains 25% more, and at a temperature of 15.56 ° C 35% more water than stated in generally accepted tables.

California gas C gives an even more significant discrepancy with the tables. Only helium does not produce large discrepancies.

In nature, gas in gas or oil formations is usually saturated with water, since every gas and every oil formation contains water and, being in contact with water, the gas sooner or later becomes saturated with water. When leaving the formation through the well, the pressure decreases, and the gas can go from saturated with water to unsaturated. Lowering the pressure increases the gas's ability to hold water in a vapor state.

But the decrease in temperature caused by the expansion of the gas usually overcomes this beneficial effect of the decrease in pressure, and liquid water can precipitate from the gas, forming hydrocarbon hydrates.

Gas unsaturated with water is pumped through a gas pipeline during cold times, for example, in winter or spring. Lowering the gas temperature can change the gas from an unsaturated state to a saturated state; Liquid water and hydrocarbon hydrates will be released from the gas, which can clog the gas pipeline, meters, pressure regulators, etc.

Buguruslan gas from the gas cap is close to gas A in the above tables, and these diagrams can be used as a guide in determining the temperature and pressure that impart water saturation to the gas, and in determining the amounts of water that can be contained in the gas under different conditions.

CALCULATION OF GAS RESERVES IN FIELDS

In each field, at the beginning of its development, gas is saturated with water in a vapor state. This water occupies part of the volume in the pores of the formation. When calculating gas reserves using the volumetric method, this volume of water must be subtracted from the volume of gas. In most fields, the volume of water in the gas is a small part of the gas volume* But at high pressure in deep-lying fields, water occupies a significant part of the volume. To determine the amount of vaporous water in a gas, the above curves should be used as a guide. But there are gases where the gasoline content is much higher than in the gases for which the curves are given. Their water content will be even higher. It must be calculated based on these curves and increasing the water content in proportion to the average molecular weight of the gas.

Tables and curves are brought up to only 43 ati. For higher pressures these curves can be continued. But when they reach the addition of maximum condensation, which occurs in various gases according to their average molecular weight, at 60-91 ati the water content curves will sharply bend upward and the water content will increase. At pressures in the formation above the “maximum condensation pressure”, water lying in the formation in a liquid state will turn into steam and mix with the gas. At some significant depth, all formation water will be in a vapor state mixed with gas. Gas from gas-condensate fields comes out of wells, carrying huge amounts of water in the form of steam. This type of deposit included the Kala deposit before development began. An excessive decrease in pressure during operation converted most of this gaseous water into a liquid state and, in addition, precipitated gas condensates in the formation. But we must calculate the initial gas reserves and subtract water from them for fields that have not yet been affected by development. Condensates should be included in gas reserves.

Fuel from water - Brown's gas Jules Verne in his book The Mysterious Island (1874) wrote the following:

“Water breaks down into the primitive elements of hydrogen and oxygen, and is undoubtedly converted into electricity, which then becomes a powerful and controllable force. Yes, my friends, I believe that water will one day be used as fuel.”

This is the most advanced fuel for our vehicles. It is obtained from water (that is, hydrogen and oxygen), just like pure hydrogen, but it burns in an internal combustion engine in such a way that, depending on the adjustment, it can release oxygen into the atmosphere. The exhaust produces oxygen and water vapor (as with fuel tanks), but the oxygen here comes from the water used to produce the gas. Therefore, when Brown's gas is burned, additional oxygen is released into the atmosphere.

Thus, the use of Brown's gas helps solve the very important problem for us of reducing oxygen in the environment.

From this point of view, Brown's gas is an ideal fuel for the cars of the future. New technology for using Brown's gas

Why is Brown's gas, as a fuel, better than pure hydrogen?

Currently, the environment is experiencing serious problems, and one of them is the loss of atmospheric oxygen. Its content in the air becomes so low that in some regions it poses a threat to human existence. The normal oxygen content in the air is 21 percent, but in some regions it is several times lower! For example, in Japan in Tokyo it fell to 6-7 percent. If the oxygen content in the air reaches 5 percent, people will begin to die. In Tokyo, oxygen pillow sales points have even been installed on street corners so that people can breathe oxygen if necessary. If we don't take action, the decrease in oxygen in the air will eventually affect each of us.

Produced by electrolysis, Brown's gas can supply oxygen to the atmosphere, while other technologies either have no effect on the atmosphere (such as using pure hydrogen or fuel tanks) or pollute it (such as using fossil fuels). Therefore, we believe that this technology should be chosen to provide fuel for vehicles in the near future.

Brown's gas/HHO gas = Water decomposes into hydrogen and oxygen into electricity

Brown's gas is also called: brown gas / HHO gas / water gas / di-hydroxide / hydroxide / green gas / Klein gas / oxyhydrogen.

Each liter of water expands by 1866 liters of combustible gas.

Working model of a gas generator, American Non-Profit University

Evaluation of information

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Gasification is the process of converting the organic part of solid and sometimes liquid fuel into a gaseous state. The main components of the resulting generator gas are CO, H2, CH4 and heavy hydrocarbons.

Gaseous fuel is widely used in technology due to a number of advantages.

For gasification, with the production of high-calorie gas, various low-value solid fuels and their waste can be used.

Gases can be burned with a slight excess of air with its preheating by the heat of exhaust combustion products; When gases are burned, a high temperature develops (1500-1900e), as a result of which the efficiency of a furnace or other heating device is high and the productivity of the furnace increases.

It is possible to obtain gases at a central gas generating station.

When burning gases, ease of maintenance of furnaces, simplicity of burner design, and the ability to precisely control the combustion process are achieved.

Solid fuel, converted into a gaseous state, can be used as a good and cost-effective fuel for internal combustion engines.

But along with great advantages, generator gas, when used as a fuel, also has disadvantages, which include additional capital investments for the installation of gas generators and the loss of sensible heat from the generator basin when cooling it during the cleaning process.

However, due to the very large advantages of gaseous fuel, all large modern factories, which have many furnaces and other heating devices located over a large area, have their own central gas generating stations.

At Ural metallurgical plants and at glass smelting plants in many regions of the USSR, gas generator units run on wood fuel. In recent years, gas generator installations on cars and tractors powered by wood lumps have gained great importance.

Producer gas was air and mixed, and sometimes also oxygas.

The production of air gas is achieved by blowing dry air through a layer of hot fuel. Mixed gas is produced by blowing a mixture of air and water vapor through a layer of hot fuel. Water gas can be obtained by passing water and air vapor through a layer of hot fuel with periodic supply of either water vapor or air. Oxygen gas is produced by passing water vapor mixed with oxygen through a layer of hot fuel.

Air gas. When intensive air is supplied through a layer of hot fuel, air gas is obtained. When processing it, a very high temperature develops (1400-1500°). which is extremely undesirable, since it causes slagging in the gas generator, as a result of which its normal operation is disrupted.

Mixed gas. The gasification method, which produces mixed generator gas, is the most acceptable for industry, since it allows the excess heat that is obtained during the formation of air gas to be used for the decomposition of water vapor. Water vapor is introduced simultaneously with air blast.

The ratio between the amount of air and water vapor is established experimentally, and it should be such that the generator does not cool down excessively and does not sludge. The moisture content introduced with the blast is judged by the temperature of the steam-air mixture, which is usually measured with a thermometer indicating the dew point of the supplied steam-air mixture. This temperature usually ranges from 38-52°.

Water gas. In connection with the development of the synthesis of ammonia, methanol, liquid fuel and other substances, water gas is widely used. It is used in a mixture with lighting or other high-calorie gas and supplied to the population for use as fuel.

The composition of water gas consists mainly of CO and H: with a small content of CO^, N2 and CH4.

Water gas on an industrial scale can be produced by storing heat in a gas generator (first method) or by supplying heat to a gas generator with a gasifying vapor-gas mixture (second method).

The process of producing water gas using the first method, i.e., using the method of storing heat in a gas generator, consists in blowing air through a hot layer of coke or charcoal from the bottom of the gas generator shaft; The fuel layer gradually heats up, and the resulting gas is usually released into the atmosphere. As soon as the temperature in the gasification zone rises to 1100-1200°, the air supply is stopped and superheated steam is released from top to bottom. Water vapor, passing through a hot layer of fuel, decomposes according to the reactions indicated below, producing water gas directed to the consumer.

The process of decomposition of water vapor is an endothermic process; therefore, the temperature in the gas generator shaft gradually drops. After the temperature drops to a certain limit (800°), the steam supply is stopped and air is again supplied to the shaft. Usually the work is carried out in such a way that air is blown in for 10 minutes, and then water vapor is blown in for 5 minutes.

The second method of producing water gas, i.e. by supplying heat to a gas generator with a gasifying vapor-gas mixture, is newer; it can be carried out in two ways: either a mixture of oxygen with water vapor, or a mixture of water vapor with circulation gas, preheated to a high temperature.

The second method of producing water gas has the advantage over the first that the process is carried out continuously, with a constant operating mode of the gas generator.

Devices in which fuel is gasified are called gas generators.

The fuel used for gasification is coke, coal, peat, firewood, etc. We will consider only gas generators running on wood fuel.

The fuel enters the gas generator shaft from above and, going down towards the heated gas flow, is gradually converted into steam and gas products.

At the bottom of the gas generator shaft (Fig. 44) under the grate, when receiving mixed gas, air and water vapor are supplied, which, rising upward, first pass through the slag layer (zone V), due to the heat of which they are somewhat heated, and then through a layer of hot fuel, reacting with its carbon. In combustion zone IV (in the oxygen zone), both CO2 and CO are produced; water vapor partially reacts with carbon.

The CO2 formed in the combustion zone (oxygen zone) and undecomposed water vapor, rising higher and passing through the layer of hot carbon fuel, are reduced to form CO and H2.

The fuel layer in which CO and H2 are formed is called the reduction zone (zone III). The composition of the gas flow at the exit from the reduction zone is dominated by CO, but not C02.

Both oxygen and reduction zones are commonly referred to as gasification zones.

Above, directly above the recovery zone ///, there is a zone II dry distillation. In this zone there is a release

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A volatile vapor-gas mixture, which includes non-condensable gases, acids, alcohols, resins and other vaporous organic substances.

At the top of the gas generator shaft, in zone /, the fuel is dried.

Zone II dry distillation and zone I fuel drying areas are called fuel preparation zones.

BASIC GASIFICATION REACTIONS

In the oxygen zone. There are three hypotheses regarding the interaction of carbon with oxygen.

1. The reduction hypothesis assumes that as a result of the interaction of carbon and oxygen, CO2 is formed directly according to the equation:

TOC o "1-3" h z С - 02 = CO., ; Q, (97)

Moreover, the presence of CO in the overlying zones, according to this hypothesis, is considered as a result of the reduction of CO2 by hot carbon in the fuel according to the reaction:

CO.. C = 2СО - Q. (98)

2. The hypothesis of the primary formation of CO assumes that as a result of the interaction of C and (): CO is first formed according to the equation:

2С а::СО-Q, (99)

Which can then be oxidized according to the equation:

2С0--0, = 2С02 Q. (100)

3. The complex hypothesis assumes that first a complex carbon-oxygen complex is formed, and then CO2 and CO are formed from it according to the reactions:

L-S-^-0, = Cr0v (10!)

CxOv= mCO, l CO. (102

The third hypothesis is currently considered the most probable of the above hypotheses.

In the recovery zone. It begins where the last traces of oxygen disappear. The following endothermic reactions take place in the reduction zone:

A) interaction of C with CO2:

WITH CO., -- 2СО; (103)

B) interaction of water vapor with hot carbon fuel:

C 211 O - CO. 2H, (104

C - !1<> C>N.. (105)

It is possible that these last two reactions partially occur in the oxygen zone. At temperatures above 900°, the second of these two reactions predominates, and below 900°, the first.

The reduction processes have time to complete sufficiently if the height of the reduction zone is 12-15 diameters of the coal pieces.

Thus, the height of the fuel layer in the gas generator is the main design dimension.

Getting away from burning fossil hydrocarbons and getting a cheap alternative source of energy has been and remains the dream of many enterprising people. And who among the homeowners would not want to have such a source at their disposal in order to heat their home at minimal cost? One of these sources is the so-called Brown's gas, obtained from ordinary water. But how to get it and how cheap it is are questions the answers to which can be found in this material.

A little theory

It should be noted that the resonant decomposition of water into Brown gas is by no means a myth, but a real chemical process designed to release gaseous fuel from water. This gas gets its name from the inventor who first tried to take this technology beyond experimentation. Another name that appears on the Internet is detonating gas (hypothetical formula of NNO).

Brown's flammable gas is nothing more than a mixture of free hydrogen and oxygen released from water through an electrolytic reaction.

Water, whose chemical formula (H2O) is known even to children, is hydrogen, which is completely oxidized. Individually, these chemical elements are very active, hydrogen burns well and is considered an energy carrier, and oxygen supports combustion. That is why splitting water, whose price is just a penny, into such useful components has become a very popular idea.

As a result, through the efforts of various people, a generator for producing gas - an electrolyzer - was born. Without going deeply into the intricacies of the process, we note that the above-mentioned apparatus uses the electrolysis method to separate Brown's gas from water, or rather, a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen. To do this, a current of optimal frequency is passed through electrodes immersed in a container of water. The resulting gas accumulates under the water seal and, when a certain pressure is reached, exits through the tube and can be used for various purposes.

The feasibility of obtaining Brown's gas

Brown gas generators, whose operating principle is described above, have found their practical application in 2 areas:

• production of hydrogen fuel for cars;
• gas-flame work (welding and soldering of metals).

A car cannot drive with an electrolyzer on board, since it requires an external source of electricity. The standard battery does not last long, because it is necessary to expend more energy to produce Brown gas than the fuel itself releases when burned. Therefore, companies that are seriously developing the topic of hydrogen fuel for cars have introduced a scheme for refueling cars with fuel obtained from a separate generator.

The situation is better with welding and soldering of metals; hydrogen torches are used in many industries in Western Europe. Since the combustion temperature of Brown's gas (2235 °C) is lower than that of acetylene (2620 °C), and the combustion product is water vapor, many environmental safety measures have become unnecessary. The industrial gas generators used for this are very expensive, since to increase efficiency they use catalysts made from rare elements, including platinum.

Managers of one British manufacturing company calculated that the total cost of separating and using Brown's gas was equal to the cost of purchasing and delivering acetylene. Only burning hydrogen is safer and more environmentally friendly. Another thing is that its production consumes electricity produced by burning the same hydrocarbons.

At the moment, heating with Brown gas is extremely inefficient, because more energy is expended on the production of fuel than is obtained during its combustion. Existing electrolyzers are not yet able to provide high fuel yield at low cost. To see this, you should watch the video:

In the second minute of the footage, the readings of the generator instruments with the hydrogen burner running are clearly visible. Voltage is 250 V, current is 14 A, respectively, the power consumption of the device is 250 x 14 = 3500 W or 3.5 kW. Now the question is: can such a torch heat water to heat a room of at least 30 m2? It is even visually noticeable that it is not. A simple electric boiler with a power of 3.5 kW will easily heat a room of up to 40 m2.

Conclusion: Brown's combustible gas cannot be compared to conventional electric heaters for heating at home. Too much energy is spent on its release from water, which means it is impractical to use it for heating. Producing hydrogen yourself can be done as a hobby or as an experiment.

How to get hydrogen at home?

On the Internet you can easily find drawings and diagrams of a wide variety of homemade installations that allow you to extract Brown's gas from water. If you filter out the information garbage related to this topic, it turns out that you can get hydrogen at home in two ways. The first is to purchase a ready-made electrolyzer; these are already commercially available. One problem is that their price is too high, and the efficiency is unknown.

When buying a hydrogen generator, you need to understand that it will not be a panacea for you in terms of heating. The price of equipment and consumed electricity will be higher than simple electric heating of water, so there is no talk of payback.

As an experiment, you can make a Brown gas generator with your own hands, which allows you to release a small amount of fuel. It is unlikely to be used to heat a building, but it may well be enough to power a small burner for melting metal. First, you need to make an electrolyzer, which is a container of water in which the electrodes are immersed. The larger the surface area of ​​the electrodes, the higher the productivity of the installation. Steel plates of arbitrary size attached to a dielectric base are suitable. The working diagram of the device is shown in the figure:

The electrodes are lowered into a hermetically sealed container of water, where ordinary salt is added to improve the reaction. A gas tube comes out through the lid and goes into the second vessel, which is a water seal; it is filled 2/3 with water.

The second tube coming out of this container is connected to the burner. It is better to supply voltage to the electrodes using an autotransformer, monitoring its value with a multimeter. How to assemble a Brown mini-gas generator with your own hands is shown in the video:

Attention! If you have managed to achieve any significant installation performance, the burner should be connected to the tube through a check valve to avoid backlash and explosion.

Conclusion

At the moment, there is no inexpensive and at the same time highly efficient equipment for producing Brown's gas from water. So far, hydrocarbons remain the leader in heating, but technologies continue to improve and it is possible that hydrogen generators will soon compete with traditional sources of thermal energy.

What is "Water Gas"? How to spell this word correctly. Concept and interpretation.

Water gas (Watergas, Wassergas) - a flammable gas mixture obtained by the decomposition of water vapor with hot coal and having the following, to the utmost degree of purity, composition: by volume 50 percent hydrogen and 50 percent carbon monoxide or by weight 6 percent hydrogen and 94 percent carbon monoxide. Usually water gas does not have this composition; it contains, in addition to the named components, some admixture of carbonic acid, nitrogen and swamp gas. We will see below that the composition of water gas varies both according to the method of extraction and the combustible material used to extract the gas. The fact of obtaining flammable gas through the decomposition of water vapor by hot coal was discovered by the Italian scientist, Professor Felicius Fontana, who lived in 1730-1805. Despite the age of this discovery, V. gas only in the last 15-20 years, and then mainly in America, received widely used for both lighting and technical purposes. Before describing the various methods and apparatus used to produce high-energy gas, let us first consider its physical and chemical properties, thanks to which it rightly disputes its advantage over other types of gaseous fuels, such as coal and generator gases. When passing through hot coals, water vapor decomposes, producing hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbonic acid. The amount of the latter depends on the temperature at which decomposition occurs. At 500°, complete decomposition into hydrogen and carbon dioxide occurs, and at 1000-1200° into hydrogen and carbon monoxide, so the process of formation of V. gas should be imagined in such a way that initially the formation of hydrogen and carbonic acid occurs, which then, at a sufficiently high temperature, in contact with coal, it completely transforms into carbon monoxide [CO2 + C = 2CO, and at first: C + 2H2O = 2H2 + CO2, therefore in total: C + H2O = H2 + CO]. Although the gas mixture that makes up hydrogen gas contains a small amount of carbonic acid and nitrogen, the distinctive qualities of hydrogen gas are determined by its two main components: hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Therefore, when determining the heating capacity of hydrogen gas and the number of units of heat developed (calories), one must keep in mind the amount of heat developed during the combustion of hydrogen into water and carbon monoxide into carbonic acid. The only expenditure of heat that occurs during the formation of water gas is the transformation of water into a vapor state, for which, according to Nauman, about 8% is spent, so that 92% of the thermal capacity of the carbon used to produce water gas is contained in water. gas. Based on this, it is believed that the thermal capacity of carbon is utilized in the most advantageous way when heating gas. This opinion is challenged mainly by Lunge, who says that V. gas should be compared not with the combustion of coal in a furnace, but with generator gas, which before its use is not cooled, as Naumann assumes, to ambient air temperature, but which goes directly from the generator to the place where he should be burned. Under such conditions, generator gas, according to Lunge, represents a more advantageous utilization of the thermal capacity of carbon than V. gas [Thermochemical data related to V. gas, and its comparison with other types of gaseous and solid fuels, will be given in the articles: Combustible materials , Fuel, Thermochemistry and Calorimetry. - ?.]. A comparison of V. gas with others in terms of combustion temperatures shows that V. gas gives a higher combustion temperature. The combustion temperature will be: for lighting gas - 2700°; for generator gas - 9350°; for water gas - 2859°; for hydrogen - 2669°; for carbon monoxide - 3041°. Lunge rightly notes that in this case an assumption is made, which in practice does not hold, that the generator gas and the air in which it burns have an ordinary temperature, while in practice the temperature of the generator gas and air is usually 800-1100 °. However, the thermal effect produced by V. gas is much more significant than even the generator gas heated to such a high temperature [especially since in regenerative furnaces the air required for the combustion of gaseous fuels is heated by the heat lost from the furnace , while water gas gives the exiting combustion products a higher temperature. - ?.]. The flame of V. gas is insignificant, but the platinum wire melts in it, the magnesium body glows strongly, emitting a bright white light, which cannot be achieved either by coal gas, burning it in a Bunsen burner, or by generator gas. The flame of a V. gas, compared with the flame of a lighting gas, has an insignificant surface area, which is almost 6 times smaller than the surface of the flame of a lighting gas with equal volumes of escaping gases. Due to the smaller surface of the V. gas flame, it cools very slightly through radiation. These properties of hot gas make it an advantageous and convenient source of heat, which technology, as we will see below, has recently taken advantage of on a large scale. But, on the other hand, due to its chemical composition, i.e. e. high content of carbon monoxide, B. gas encounters many difficulties for wider distribution and use; Although technology has already developed well-known precautionary rules when using V. gas in factories and workshops, nevertheless, the fear of being poisoned by V. gas is still very great. It is known that carbon monoxide is a poisonous gas that causes blood damage and attacks of intoxication.