(a) Commercially, hydrogen is prepared by Bosch process.
(b) (i) Steam is passed over hot coke at 1000°C in a furnace called converters. As a result water gas is produced which is a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen gases.
This reaction is endothermic in nature.
(ii) Water gas is mixed with an excess of steam and passed over a catalyst ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and a promotor chromium trioxide (Cr2O3).
This reaction is exothermic in nature
(c) (i) The products are hydrogen, carbon dioxide and some unreacted carbon monoxide. Hydrogen is separated from carbon dioxide by passing the mixture through water under pressure, in which carbon dioxide gets dissolved leaving behind hydrogen. Carbon dioxide can also be separated by passing it through the caustic potash (KOH) solution.
2KOH + CO2 → K2CO3 + H2O
(ii) To separate carbon monoxide, the gaseous mixture is passed through ammoniacal cuprous chloride in which carbon monoxide dissolves leaving behind hydrogen.
Thus hydrogen gas is obtained.