Formox process
Revision as of 07:01, 4 November 2020 by Michel Lamontagne (talk | contribs)
Process used to create formaldehyde. The Formox process is a catalytic oxydation of methanol.
The most common catalyst is silver, but iron oxide and molybdenum and/or vanadium is a recent variation that can also be used and might be more available on Mars. In the iron oxide catalyzed process, methanol and oxygen react at 300-400°C to produce formaldehyde according to the chemical equation:
CH3OH + ½ O2 → H2CO + H2O.
The Formox process can be part of an In-situ production system for a settlement.