The Linde–Frank–Caro process is a method for

hydrogen production Hydrogen gas is produced by several industrial methods. Nearly all of the world's current supply of hydrogen is created from fossil fuels. Article in press. Most hydrogen is ''gray hydrogen'' made through steam methane reforming. In this process, ...

by removing

hydrogen Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and abundance of the chemical elements, most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all baryon, normal matter ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...

from

water gas Water gas is a kind of fuel gas, a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. It is produced by "alternately hot blowing a fuel layer okewith air and gasifying it with steam". The caloric yield of the fuel produced by this method is about 10% o ...

condensation Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle. It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor ...

. The process was invented in 1909 by Adolf Frank and developed with

Carl von Linde Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde (11 June 1842 – 16 November 1934) was a German scientist, engineer, and businessman. He discovered the refrigeration cycle and invented the first industrial-scale air separation and gas liquefaction processes, ...

and

Heinrich Caro Heinrich Caro (February 13, 1834 – September 11, 1910) was a German chemist. Caro was of Sephardic Jewish origin He started his study of chemistry at the Humboldt University of Berlin, Friedrich Wilhelms University and later chemistry and dy ...

.125 Years of Linde: A Chronicle
p. 30.

Process description

Water gas is compressed to 20 bar and pumped into the Linde–Frank–Caro reactor. A water column removes most of the carbon dioxide and

sulfur Sulfur ( American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphur ( Commonwealth spelling) is a chemical element; it has symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms ...

. Tubes with

caustic soda Sodium hydroxide, also known as lye and caustic soda, is an inorganic compound with the formula . It is a white solid ionic compound consisting of sodium cations and hydroxide anions . Sodium hydroxide is a highly corrosive base and alkali t ...

then remove the remaining carbon dioxide, sulphur, and water from the gas stream. The gas enters a chamber and is cooled to −190 °C, resulting in the condensation of most of the gas to a liquid. The remaining gas is pumped to the next vessel where the

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

is liquefied by cooling to −205 °C, resulting in

hydrogen gas Hydrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol H and atomic number 1. It is the lightest and most abundant chemical element in the universe, constituting about 75% of all normal matter. Under standard conditions, hydrogen is a gas of diatomi ...

as an end product.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Linde-Frank-Caro process Hydrogen production Chemical processes Industrial gases 1909 in science 1909 in Germany

Process description

See also

References