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water gas
noun
: a poisonous flammable gaseous mixture that consists chiefly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen with small amounts of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, is usually made by blowing air and then steam over red-hot coke or coal, and is used as a fuel or after carbureting as an illuminant
Examples of water gas in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tanzanian Energy Minister January Makamba said interest in developing the country’s deep-water gas fields had picked up during global climate negotiations last year, with some considering gas as a bridging fuel between hydrocarbons and renewables.
—Washington Post, 20 Mar. 2022
Romania has shallow-water gas projects, but a major deep-water find by eight years ago has still to be exploited.
—Selcan Hacaoglu, Fortune, 21 Aug. 2020
The reaction at play here is called reverse water gas shift, and it’s used in this context to turn carbon dioxide separated from regular seawater into carbon monoxide that can be synthesized into hydrocarbons.
—Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 17 July 2020
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Word History
First Known Use
1833, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near water gas
Cite this Entry
“Water gas.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20gas. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
water gas
noun
: a poisonous flammable gaseous mixture that consists chiefly of carbon monoxide and hydrogen, that is usually made by blowing air and then steam over red-hot coke or coal, and that is used as a fuel
More from Merriam-Webster on water gas
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about water gas
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