Carbon monoxide uses

Carbon monoxide is a relatively common chemical gas. What people know about nitric oxide is that it is highly toxic. If carbon monoxide is accidentally inhaled, it often poses a great threat to human life safety, and in severe cases it can lead to brain death. Carbon monoxide is widely used in the chemical industry and is often used as a reducing agent in the metallurgical industry. Let us learn more about this aspect.

Carbon Monoxide Uses

Used in the preparation of sodium formate and as a reducing agent in the metallurgical industry.

CO+NaOH==High temperature and high pressure==HCOONa

Industrial reduction of iron oxide (preparation of iron)

Used as gas fuel, such as water gas (a mixture of gases such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen).

Occupational exposure

When carbon-containing substances are not burned completely, CO gas will be produced. There are more than 70 types of operations that involve exposure to CO in industrial production, such as coking, ironmaking, forging, casting and heat treatment in the metallurgical industry; the production of synthetic ammonia, acetone, phosgene and methanol in the chemical industry; mine blasting and coal mine gas explosion accidents; carbon graphite electrode manufacturing; internal combustion engine testing; and the production of metal carbonyls such as carbonyl nickel [Ni(CO)?] and carbonyl iron [Fe(CO)?], or the production and use of combustible gases containing CO (such as water gas containing 40% CO, blast furnace and producer gas containing 30%, and coal gas containing 5% to 15%). The gas produced after the explosion of dynamite or gunpowder contains about 30% to 60% CO. The exhaust gas from internal combustion engines using diesel and gasoline also contains about 1% to 8% CO.

Sequelae

Patients with moderate to severe poisoning may suffer from neurasthenia, parkinsonism, hemiplegia, hemianopsia, aphasia, dysphagia, intellectual disability, toxic psychosis or decerebrate rigidity. Some patients may develop secondary encephalopathy.

Acute poisoning

Acute carbon monoxide poisoning is the acute occupational poisoning with the highest incidence and mortality in my country. CO is also a cause of accidental poisoning in many countries

Carbon monoxide poisoning is the leading cause of death. The main clinical manifestations are symptoms and signs of acute cerebral hypoxia. If symptoms such as headache, dizziness, palpitations, and nausea occur after exposure to CO and they disappear quickly after inhaling fresh air, it is a general exposure reaction.

People with mild poisoning experience severe headache, dizziness, palpitations, blurred vision, weakness in the limbs, nausea, vomiting, irritability, unsteady gait, and mild to moderate disturbances of consciousness (such as confusion and drowsiness), but no coma. After leaving the poisoning place and breathing fresh air or oxygen for a few hours, the symptoms gradually recover completely. In addition to the above symptoms, patients with moderate poisoning also have flushed face, sweating, rapid pulse, and impaired consciousness manifesting as mild to moderate coma. The person can gradually recover after being promptly removed from the poisoning site and receiving emergency treatment, generally without any obvious complications or sequelae.