Carbon monoxide

Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. It consists of one carbon atom covalently bonded to one oxygen atom. It is made when carbon compounds burn and there is not enough oxygen. It is a good fuel and burns in air with a blue flame, making carbon dioxide. It is very toxic, but it is useful for modern technology as well.

The most important use for carbon monoxide in industry is making iron from iron ore. The carbon monoxide takes the oxygen from the iron ore when heated in a large oven called a blast furnace. Liquid metal iron is left behind. The carbon monoxide turns into carbon dioxide.

Carbon monoxide can accidentally form when there is too little air to burn all the fuel into carbon dioxide. Such a situation may happen if the oven shutters are closed too early or if a mobile cooker is used in a small tent with no ventilation (Ventilation is fresh air coming in and smoke going out). Many people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Low-level carbon monoxide poisoning can cause feelings of paranoia and hallucinations, and has been determined to be a major cause of "haunted" houses. Higher levels of carbon monoxide can cause flu-like symptoms, headaches, and death. Small amounts of it are found in coal gas, a fuel produced by heating coal without any air.

 Production 
Despite that it is a poison, carbon monoxide is very useful in chemical industry so lots of ways of making it have been discovered.Holleman, A. F.; Wiberg, E. "Inorganic Chemistry" Academic Press: San Diego, 2001. . Normally we burn coke at high temperature with not enough oxygen. Blast furnaces work this way. The chemical equation for this is:

2C + O2 → 2CO

It can be also made by blowing hot steam through red-hot crushed coke

 C + H2O → CO + H2

Carbon monoxide can be used as heating fuel because it burns easily into carbon dioxide. It can also be used as so-called "synthesis gas" for making man-made gasoline in the Fischer-Tropsch process.

During the World War II when petrol was rare and reserved for the military, many cars were converted to use wood gas. It is carbon monoxide made by burning wood chips in insufficient amount of air. The wood gas was made in a special oven called generator, which was carried on the car. The resulting carbon monoxide was then used as fuel for the car itself. Even today there are cars which use wood gas as fuel.

 References 

 Other websites 
 International Chemical Safety Card 0023
 National Pollutant Inventory - Carbon Monoxide 
 NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards
 United States Environmental Protection Agency Carbon Monoxide page
 External MSDS data sheet 
 Carbon Monoxide Kills Campaign Site 
 Carbon Monoxide information for victims of poisoning
 Carbon Monoxide Hazards with Backpacking Stoves
 USFDA IMPORT BULLETIN 16B-95, May 1999 
 FDA Agency Response Letter GRAS Notice No. GRN 000083 
 Carbon Monoxide in Fresh Meat site 
 Radiology and Pathology of CO Poisoning Images from MedPix

Category:Toxicology
Category:Carbon compounds
Category:Oxides