When we mention carbon monoxide (CO), its applications are not what people talk about. Instead, it is immediately remembered by its nickname “the silent killer.”
As a colorless, odorless, but highly toxic gas, it was once used as a mass assassination tool in World War II. Of course, this is not a beneficial application of CO that humans desire. Currently, the main applications of CO gas are in industry, medicine, laser cutting, etc.
Applications of CO gas in industry
Carbon monoxide is a chemical substance used in many important industrial fields. In gaseous or liquid form, carbon monoxide is widely used as a fuel in industrial activities.
And based on the characteristic properties of carbon monoxide gas, it also has various applications in the chemical production field.
Carbon monoxide easily reacts with water vapor at high temperatures to form carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen gas (H2). This process is used as a source of hydrogen for combination with nitrogen gas in ammonia synthesis.
For the production of corrosive alkalis, CO appears and produces alkali forms, easily converting to formic acid or alkali oxalate for the production of oxalic acid.
Carbon monoxide and hydrogen are also important starting materials in the production of methanol, in the preparation of aldehydes and alcohols used as fuel.
Applications of CO gas in food preservation:
One of the notable applications of CO gas is its use in food preservation, especially for seafood intended for export.
CO is mainly used to preserve various fresh meat products such as beef, pork, and especially fish to maintain their freshness and appealing appearance.
It works effectively through the mechanism of carbon monoxide combining with myoglobin to produce the bright red cherry pigment of carboxy myoglobin.
Currently, most food processors use CO gas to treat the muscle tissue of fish and meat with the aim of retaining the natural red color to attract consumer tastes.
Because frozen fish or seafood products often undergo a color change from bright red to brown, affecting product quality and consumer perception.
When CO gas is used for preservation, it immediately reduces the oxygen level from 20% to 0%, creating an anaerobic environment and minimizing the oxidation process. This avoids or slows down enzyme activity to best prevent food spoilage over time, at a lower cost than traditional methods.
Applications of CO in metallurgy
CO is applied in metallurgy due to its nature as a strong reducing agent, and humans have used it for a long time to produce metallurgical metals in blast furnaces.
At high temperatures, carbon monoxide gas removes oxygen from metal oxide molecules, turning them into pure metals. At the same time, carbon dioxide gas (CO2) is formed in this process.
Carbon monoxide gas reacts with some metals such as nickel, iron, and cobalt to form carbonyl compounds. Some carbonyls have unusual physical and chemical properties that humans have used in industry, such as nickel tetracarbonyl, which, although highly toxic, is used to produce nickel.
Manufacturing carbon monoxide lasers with CO applications
Carbon monoxide gas has also been used as an effective cooling medium for high-power infrared lasers.
Applications of CO gas in the medical field:
This is an application of CO that few people know because it is a toxic gas that easily causes suffocation in humans. When CO poisoning is detected, it is often too late for treatment. Moreover, because it is a colorless and odorless gas, it is difficult to detect leaks or when people are gradually poisoned without knowing.
>>>> CO poisoning – Carbon monoxide poisoning and treatment
Today, scientists have found ways to control its toxicity to turn it into a useful therapeutic method or drug. They have also proven CO’s role in the human body, even showing that CO is a product produced by the body itself.
Carbon monoxide is used in medicine as an effective neurotransmitter. It is one of the three natural anti-inflammatory gases in the body (second only to nitric oxide and the third gas is hydrogen sulfide).
In many body tissues, all three gases act as anti-inflammatory agents, effective vasodilators, and promote the growth of cerebral blood vessels.
In fact, our bodies produce about 10 milliliters of CO every day through the heme metabolism process of heme oxygenase (HO-1). This is an enzyme that converts heme to produce important chemicals such as iron, biliverdin pigment, and carbon monoxide. In fact, we might die without CO.
Carbon monoxide is a toxic substance but is used and acts as a coating on metal stents for patients with coronary artery disease. It helps reduce infection, prevent heart muscle cells from dying due to infarction, prevent artery restenosis, and avoid future heart attacks.
The applications of CO gas in industry and other fields that MIGCO has shared today will hopefully help you gain a more objective view of this industrial gas.
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