# Canister of Carbon Monoxide **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052 "2011-11-15T21:26:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/1 "2011-11-15T21:26:28Z")
In a [news article](http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/11/14/edmonton-fatality-inquiry-father-son-suicide.html) about a murder-suicide, it said that a canister of carbon monoxide was opened. I saw in a different report that a tank of carbon monoxide was used. That sort of implies that CO has a use (otherwise, how would he come by a canister of the stuff). What is it commonly used for? Fumigation came to mind, but I thought other products were more commonly used for fumigation. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/2 "2011-11-15T21:36:46Z")
> **[Carbon monoxide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_monoxide#Uses)** > > Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simplest carbon oxide. In coordination complexes, the carbon monoxide ligand is called carbonyl. It is a key ingredient in many processes in industrial chemistry. > The most common source of carbon monoxide is the partial combustion of carbon-containing com... ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/3 "2011-11-15T21:38:24Z")
With a little Googling, it seems the stuff is used to synthesis acetic acid, and this is the most common means of making same. You can also use it to synthesis methanol, refine nickel, or give meat a bright red colour before packaging. eta: ninjaed! ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/4 "2011-11-15T21:40:28Z")
Oops! Should have thought to check Wiki first - it just struck me as so odd to get a canister of the stuff to accomplish a murder/suicide (as opposed to just using car exhaust) that I didn’t think to check.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/5 "2011-11-15T21:42:37Z")
CO is used to calibrate CO measurement equipment in vehicle emissions test facilities. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/6 "2011-11-15T21:43:06Z")
It’s a principal C1 building block for all sorts of basic chemical manufacture. Also used as a reductant in some chemical processes - the classical blast furnace for refining iron from iron ore used CO to reduce the oxide (Don’t know if it’s still done that way today). ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/7 "2011-11-15T22:29:29Z")
I had my very own tank of CO next to my hood in grad school. It makes a very good ligand for organometallic species. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canister-of-carbon-monoxide/603052/8 "2011-11-16T00:43:26Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > I had my very own tank of CO next to my hood in grad school. It makes a very good ligand for organometallic species. Yeppers. We just bought it from the same welding and gas supply place we bought all our gas cylinders. I don’t know if there were any restrictions.