Production of CO from CO2 by reduced indium oxide

Abstract

The forward and backward reactions of the process ln₂O₃(s)+xCO(g)⇌ ln₂O_3–x(s)+xCO₂(g) proceed rapidly and repeatedly at 673 K when the degree of reduction of ln₂O₃ is low. However, the yield of the backward reaction decreases as the degree of reduction rises above ca. 40%. This is ascribed to a decrease in the number of surface-active sites for the decomposition of CO₂. The free-energy change of the reaction evaluated from the ratio of partial pressures P(CO₂)/P(CO) at equilibrium agreed well with results obtained by other workers, assuming indium metal as the reduced species.