Kinetics and equilibrium are studied on the hydrothermal decarbonylation and decarboxylation of formic acid, the intermediate of the water-gas-shift (WGS) reaction, in hot water at temperatures of 170-330 degrees C, to understand and control the hydrothermal WGS reaction. (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy is applied to analyze as a function of time the quenched reaction mixtures in both the liquid and gas phases. Only the decarbonylation is catalyzed by HCl, and the reaction is first-order with respect to both [H(+)] and [HCOOH]. Consequently, the reaction without HCl is first and a half (1.5) order due to the unsuppressed ionization of formic acid. The HCl-accelerated decarbonylation path can thus be separated in time from the decarboxylation. The rate and equilibrium constants for the decarbonylation are determined separately by using the Henry constant (gas solubility data) for carbon monoxide in hot water. The rate constant for the decarbonylation is 1.5 x 10(-5), 2.0 x 10(-4), 3.7 x 10(-3), and 6.3 x 10(-2) mol(-1) kg s(-1), respectively, at 170, 200, 240, and 280 degrees C on the liquid branch of the saturation curve. The Arrhenius plot of the decarbonylation is linear and gives the activation energy as 146 +/- 3 kJ mol(-1). The equilibrium constant K(CO) = [CO]/[HCOOH] is 0.15, 0.33, 0.80, and 4.2, respectively, at 170, 200, 240, and 280 degrees C. The van't Hoff plot results in the enthalpy change of DeltaH = 58 +/- 6 kJ mol(-1). The decarboxylation rate is also measured at 240-330 degrees C in both acidic and basic conditions. The rate is weakly dependent on the solution pH and is of the order of 10(-4) mol kg(-1) s(-1) at 330 degrees C. Furthermore, the equilibrium constant K(CO2) = [CO(2)][H(2)]/[HCOOH] is estimated to be 1.0 x10(2) mol kg(-1) at 330 degrees C.

HCOOH f CO + H 2 O (decarbonylation or dehydration) (1) HCOOH f CO 2 + H 2 (decarboxylation or dehydrogenation) (2) CO + H 2 O a HCOOH a CO 2 + H 2 (3)

A high-resolution nuclear-magnetic-resonance probe (500 MHz for 1H) has been developed for multinuclear pulsed-field-gradient spin-echo diffusion measurements at high temperatures up to 400 degrees C. The convection effect on the self-diffusion measurement is minimized by achieving the homogeneous temperature distributions of +/-1 and +/-2 degrees C, respectively, at 250 and 400 degrees C. The high temperature homogeneity is attained by using the solid-state heating system composed of a ceramic (AlN) with high thermal conductivity comparable with that of metal aluminium. The self-diffusion coefficients D for light (1H2O) and heavy (2H2O) water are distinguishably measured at subcritical temperatures of 30-350 degrees C with intervals of 10-25 degrees C on the liquid-vapor coexisting curve and at a supercritical temperature of 400 degrees C as a function of water density between 0.071 and 0.251 gcm3. The D value obtained for 1H2O is 10%-20% smaller than those previously reported because of the absence of the convection effect. At 400 degrees C, the D value for 1H2O is increased by a factor of 3.7 as the water density is reduced from 0.251 to 0.071 gcm3. The isotope ratio D(1H2O)D(2H2O) decreases from 1.23 to approximately 1.0 as the temperature increases from 30 to 400 degrees C. The linear hydrodynamic relationship between the self-diffusion coefficient divided by the temperature and the inverse viscosity does not hold. The effective hydrodynamic radius of water is not constant but increases with the temperature elevation in subcritical water.