Studies upon catalytic combustion.—Part III. The influence of steam upon the catalytic combustion of carbonic oxide

Abstract

In connection with the researches upon catalytic combustion conducted in my laboratories for some years past, a great deal of attention has been paid to the experimental investigation of the important question of whether or no the presence of moisture has any specific influence upon the catalytic combustion of carbonic oxide. The present paper embodies the principal results of our investigations up to date. They were begun in 1908 at the University of Leeds, in collaboration with the two Gas Research Fellows—Mr. A. Forshaw, M. Sc., and Dr. H. Hartley—as well as with Mr. A. Appleyard, B. Sc., and have been completed at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, with the collaboration of the late W. A. Haward, M. Sc., Mr. S. Robson, B. Sc., A. Whitaker, B. Sc., and Prof. D. S. Chamberlin, of Lehigh University, U. S. A., who recently spent a "sabbatical year" working with us. The difficult nature of the experimental work involved operations demanding the utmost care, great attention to details, and unusual skill on the part of my collaborators. The surfaces experimented with were porous porcelain, the oxides of copper and nickel, gold and silver, And, in view of the importance of the results in connection with the theoretical aspects of the subject, many independent repetitions of the experiments were made at various times to ensure their complete confirmation. In the case of a very porous surface, such as fireclay or porous porcelain, it was ultimately found necessary to extend a given experiment uninterruptedly day and night over three months, in order to ensure complete dryness of the system. Indeed, not until the later stages of the research was it possible to view correctly and reconcile all the results.