Production of methane from carbon

Abstract

THE recent work of Blackwood and McGrory1 has shown that methane is formed when carbon, in the form of coconut char, is allowed to react with steam under pressure. The rate of formation of methane is a linear function of the steam pressure and appeared to be independent of the partial pressure of hydrogen when the latter is small. A similar study2 of the reaction of hydrogen and carbon under pressure at temperatures of 650-950°C. has shown that the rate of formation of methane is a linear function of the hydrogen pressure and that the addition of small amounts of steam to the atmosphere of hydrogen has no apparent effect on the rate of formation of methane. It is suggested that the mechanism of methane formation is the same. The rate of formation of methane, for the same carbon, prepared at 950°C., with 30 atm. of steam at 870°C., is 16 × 10-5 gm.mol./min./gm. carbon, and with hydrogen under the same conditions is 10 × 10-5 gm.mol./min./gm. carbon. The rate varies with the temperature of preparation of the carbon and lower-temperature carbons are more reactive, reaching a maximum reactivity to hydrogen when prepared at about 750°C. © 1958 Nature Publishing Group.