Question

Producer gas is a mixture of:
(a) $CO+{ H }_{ 2 }$
(b) ${ H }_{ 2 }+{ CH }_{ 4 }$
(c) $CO+{ N }_{ 2 }+{ H }_{ 2 }$
(d) $CO+{ H }_{ 2 }O$

Answer 1

Hint: The producer gas is a mixture of gases that is obtained by the partial combustion of a fuel with air while steam is used to maintain a constant temperature. It is an exothermic process.

Complete answer:
Producer gas is obtained by the partial combustion of a fuel with air. In this process steam is used to maintain the constant temperature.
The producer gas is generally used as a fuel for the production of iron and steel or as a source of mechanical power in gas engines. The process for the formation of producer gas is quite expensive and therefore large amounts of producer gas is used and made.
 Producer gas is known by different names in the world. For example in the US it is called wood gas. It is produced in a gasifier and contains impurities which condense out while the gas cools. Generally anthracite and coke are used as fuels for the production of the wood gas. It is used as a source of energy in cars , boats and is also distributed to remote locations.
 Similarly the producer gas is called suction gas in the United Kingdom since an internal combustion engine is used for the production of the suction gas.
 The process for the formation of producer gas involves the passing of air over heated (red-hot) carbonaceous (such as coke, anthracite) fuel which results in the formation of the carbon monoxide along with heat (the reaction is exothermic). The reactions involved are given below:

-Formation of carbon dioxide:

$ \begin{matrix} C(s)+{ O }_{ 2 }(g)\rightarrow { CO }_{ 2 }(g) \\ { CO }_{ 2 }(g)+C(s)\rightarrow 2CO(g) \\ 2C(s)+{ O }_{ 2 }(g)\rightarrow 2CO(g) \end{matrix}$

-Reaction between carbon and steam

$ \begin{matrix} { H }_{ 2 }O(g)+C(s)\rightarrow { H }_{ 2 }(g)+CO(g) \\ 2{ H }_{ 2 }O(g)+C(s)\rightarrow 2{ H }_{ 2 }(g)+{ CO }_{ 2 }(g) \end{matrix}$

-Reaction between CO and steam

$ \begin{matrix} { H }_{ 2 }O(g)+CO(g)\rightarrow { H }_{ 2 }(g)+C{ O }_{ 2 }(g) \\ { H }_{ 2 }(g)+C{ O }_{ 2 }(g)\rightarrow { H }_{ 2 }O(g)+{ CO }(g) \end{matrix}$

An ideal producer gas has 34.7% carbon monoxide and 65.3% nitrogen gas. But the real producer gas also contains hydrogen gas.
So, the correct answer is “Option C”.

Note: Producer gas is also known as air gas, power gas, generator gas, semi water gas etc. The amount of the solid fuel required for the formation of the producer gas is more than the theoretical value while the amount of air required is less than the theoretical value.