Hydrogen from aluminum and water. How to produce hydrogen from water Producing hydrogen from aluminum by electrolysis

“Hydrogen is generated only when needed, so you can only produce as much of it as you need,” Woodall explained at a university symposium describing the details of the discovery. The technology can, for example, be used in conjunction with small internal combustion engines in a variety of applications such as portable emergency generators, lawn mowers and saws. Theoretically, it can be used on cars and trucks.

Hydrogen is released spontaneously when water is added to the beads, which are made from an alloy of aluminum and gallium. “In this case, the aluminum in the carbide reacts with water, stripping oxygen from its molecules,” comments Woodall. Accordingly, the remaining hydrogen is released into the surrounding space.

The presence of gallium is critical for the reaction to occur, since it prevents the formation of an oxide film on the surface of aluminum during its oxidation. This film usually prevents further oxidation of aluminum by acting as a barrier. If its formation is disrupted, the reaction will continue until all the aluminum is consumed.

Woodall discovered the process with liquid aluminum-gallium alloy in 1967 while he was working in the semiconductor industry. “I was cleaning a crucible containing an alloy of gallium and aluminum,” he says. “When I added water to it, there was a loud bang. After that, I retired to the laboratory and spent several hours studying what exactly happened.”

“Gallium is a necessary component, since it melts at a low temperature and dissolves aluminum, which makes it possible for the latter to react with water. Woodall explains. “This was an unexpected discovery, since it is well known that solid aluminum does not react with water.”

The final products of the reaction are gallium and aluminum oxide. The combustion of hydrogen leads to the formation of water. “This way, no toxic emissions are produced,” says Woodall. “It is also important to note that gallium does not participate in the reaction, so it can be recycled and used again. This is important because this metal is now much more expensive than aluminum. However, if this process begins to be widely used, the mining industry will be able to produce cheaper, low-grade gallium. By comparison, all gallium used today is highly purified and is used primarily in the semiconductor industry.”

Woodall says that because hydrogen can be used instead of gasoline in internal combustion engines, the technique could be applied to automotive applications. However, in order for the technology to compete with gasoline technology, it is necessary to reduce the cost of aluminum oxide recovery. “Right now, the cost of a pound of aluminum is over $1, so you can't get the same amount of hydrogen as gasoline at $3 a gallon,” Woodall explains.

However, the cost of aluminum can be reduced if it is obtained from the oxide using electrolysis, and the electricity for it will come from or. In this case, aluminum can be produced on site and there is no need for electrical transmission, reducing overall costs. In addition, such systems can be located in remote areas, which is especially important when constructing nuclear power plants. This approach, according to Woodall, will reduce the use of gasoline, reduce pollution and dependence on oil imports.

“We call it aluminum-based hydrogen power,” says Woodall, “and it won't be difficult to convert internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen. All you need to do is replace their fuel injector with a hydrogen one.”

The system can also be used to power fuel cells. In this case, it can already compete with gasoline engines - even with today's high cost of aluminum. “Fuel cell systems are 75% efficient, compared to 25% for internal combustion engines,” says Woodall. “So once the technology is widely available, our hydrogen extraction technique will be economically viable.”

Scientists emphasize the value of aluminum for energy generation. “Most people don’t realize how much energy is contained in it,” explains Woodall. “Each pound (450 grams) of metal can produce 2 kWh when burning the hydrogen released, and the same amount of energy in the form of heat. Thus, an average car with a tank filled with aluminum alloy balls (about 150 kg) will be able to travel about 600 km, and it will cost $60 (with the assumption that the aluminum oxide will then be recycled). For comparison, if I fill the tank with gasoline, I will get 6 kWh per pound, which is 2.5 times more energy from a pound of aluminum. In other words, I would need 2.5 times more aluminum to get the same amount of energy. However, the important thing is that I completely exclude gasoline, and instead use a cheap substance available in the USA."

But how, from a scientific point of view, can energy be obtained from such waste? One author decided to repeat this experiment, and it turned out quite well. What is hidden behind all this? Everything is actually very simple, we will get energy from aluminum by extracting hydrogen from it. This can be done in various ways; aluminum is a rather unstable metal if its oxide film is destroyed. At the same time, it begins to release hydrogen simply by contacting the air. Acids and other substances can be used to destroy the oxide film. For example, you can simply scratch aluminum with a needle under a drop of mercury and in this place the oxide film will be destroyed.

Why you will need Coca-Cola during the experiment, you will find out from the article;)

Materials and tools used

List of materials:
- hoses;
- boards;
- plastic bottles;
- two-stroke engine;
- DC motor 12V;
- 12V battery;
- (optional);
- plastic canister;
- pressure gauge;
- metal clamps;
- a piece of metal tube;
- cold welding;
- Activated carbon;
- water;
- thin sheet steel;
- self-tapping screws.

For chemical reaction: aluminum, Coca-Cola, sodium hydroxide.

List of tools:
- scissors;
- screwdriver;
- hacksaw;
- ;
- keys, screwdrivers and other small items.

Let's start assembling the device:

Step one. Theory
The point is this: take Coca-Cola and add sodium hydroxide to it. Coca-Cola contains phosphoric acid, and when it reacts with sodium hydroxide, it produces the substance sodium orthophosphate, as well as water. So, if you add aluminum to sodium orthophosphate, you get a violent reaction with the release of hydrogen, which is what we need.

All that remains for us is to adapt the container for the reaction, as well as install filters and a hydrogen consumer, which is the internal combustion engine.

The engine must be prepared to run on gas. For this we need a small plastic bottle. We cut holes in the cover for the screws and make an incoming hole for the carburetor. We attach the cover to the carburetor. Cut off the bottom of the bottle, and instead put on a sponge or something similar that will serve as a filter.

Make a hole in the bottle at the entrance to the carburetor and install a gas supply hose.

The generator and engine shafts are connected using a piece of rubber hose. To be on the safe side, you can insert a thinner hose into a thicker one. We fix this whole thing with metal clamps.

After this, you can try to start the engine. Spray the air filter with starting fluid and apply voltage to the engine to spin up the engine. Don't forget about ignition and direction of rotation.

The reaction releases so much heat that the water begins to boil. To avoid this, the author pours cold water over the canister.

While the whole world is developing fuel cells and talking about the hydrogen energy of the future, skeptics never tire of repeating that humanity still does not have a cheap way to produce hydrogen. The modern method of production is the electrolysis of water, but to implement it on a global scale will require a lot of electricity.

Humanity places its main hopes on the thermonuclear fusion project, which should open up an inexhaustible source of energy for people, but no one has yet undertaken to predict the date of the first tokamak going into operation. In addition, scientists are trying to adapt bacteria to produce hydrogen from food and industrial waste, and are also trying imitate the process of photosynthesis, which separates water into hydrogen and oxygen in plants. All these methods are still very far from industrial implementation.

American scientists seem to have learned to produce hydrogen in large quantities by reacting aluminum with water.

Developers at Purdue University have created a new metal alloy enriched with aluminum that could be very effective in the process of producing hydrogen. The use of this alloy, among other things, is economically justified, and this method may soon compete with modern types of fuel used in the transport and energy industries.

How speaks Jerry Woodall, a university professor and initiator of the work, his innovation could find applications in all areas - from mobile energy generation devices to large industrial installations.

The new alloy consists of 95% aluminum, and the remaining 5% from a complex alloy of gallium, indium and tin. Although gallium is a very rare and expensive element, its quantities in the alloy are so small that the cost of the alloy, and especially the cost of its operation, can be commercially profitable.
When this alloy is added to water, aluminum enters into an oxidation reaction, as a result of which hydrogen and thermal energy are released, and aluminum is converted into oxide form.
2Al + 3H 2 O --> 3H 2 + Al 2 O 3 + Q

From a school chemistry course, everyone should know that aluminum is an extremely active metal and easily reacts with water, releasing hydrogen during its own oxidation. However, the use of aluminum in everyday life, and especially as utensils for cooking, is absolutely safe, since on the surface of aluminum there is always a thin, but very durable and inert oxide film Al 2 O 3, which causes aluminum to react with water not so easy.

The indium-gallium-tin alloy is a critical component for Woodall's technology: it prevents the formation of this oxide film and allows the aluminum to react quantitatively with water.

In addition to hydrogen, thermal energy is also a valuable product of the reaction, which can also be used. Aluminum oxide and a more inert alloy of gallium, indium and tin can subsequently be reduced in a known industrial process, so a closed cycle can reduce the cost of energy generation, in domestic terms, to less than 2 rubles per kilowatt-hour.

The merit of chemist-technologists is that they were not only able to do a titanic job of selecting the chemical composition of an aluminum alloy, but also learned to control its microstructure, which is the key to the functionalization of the material.

The fact is that a mixture of metals upon solidification does not form a homogeneous solid solution due to differences in the structure of the crystal lattices of the metals; in addition, the resulting alloy has a rather low melting point. As a result, the final alloy is formed upon cooling from the melt in the form of a mixture of two independent phases - aluminum and an alloy of gallium, indium and tin, embedded in the thickness of the material in the form of microscopic crystallites.

It is this two-phase composition that determines the ability of aluminum in a given alloy to react with water under normal conditions, and therefore is critical for the entire technology.

In addition, as it turns out, this material can be obtained in two different forms, depending on the method of cooling the molten mixture of metals. Apparently, during rapid cooling (quenching), the crystal structure of the solution does not have time to rearrange itself, as a result of which the sample at the exit turns out to be almost single-phase. Woodall's alloy in this form does not react with water until it is wetted with a molten mixture of gallium, indium and tin.

However, having discovered the ability of such a wetted material to react with water under normal conditions, scientists were quite inspired and after some time discovered the ability of a melt enriched in aluminum to crystallize upon slow cooling in a two-phase form. Such a material is capable of reacting with water without the participation of a liquid alloy of gallium, indium and tin. Scientists believe that the determining factor in preventing the formation of an oxide film on the surface of a material is the microstructure of the materials at the interface between the two phases that form the material.

At the moment, scientists are concerned with the technological task of briquetting their alloy to improve the ease of use. Thus, a block of aluminum alloy can be placed in a reactor, the dimensions of which are determined by the required amount of hydrogen, and produce exactly as much hydrogen as is needed at the place and time when it is needed. Such a technology, when brought to its logical conclusion, will solve two more pressing problems of hydrogen energy (in addition to the actual production of hydrogen from water), namely, hydrogen storage and its transportation.
The alloy of indium, gallium and tin is an inert component and does not participate in the reaction, so after the end of the reaction it can be reused with virtually no losses.

Aluminum oxide is also a very convenient substance for carrying out its electrochemical reduction in accordance with the Hall-Heroult process, which is widely used in the aluminum industry at present:
2Al 2 O 3 + 3C = 4Al + 3CO 2
According to scientists, the recovery of aluminum from the oxide obtained during the production of hydrogen is even cheaper than its standard production from bauxite, although the full cycle from aluminum to aluminum is, of course, expensive - scientists did not intend to create a perpetual motion machine.

In principle, to implement Woodall’s technology, which has not yet been described in scientific publications, no new innovations are required - it is only necessary to establish an infrastructure for delivering the alloy to the end user and organize the process of its recovery using well-developed industrial methods for producing aluminum metal.

Aluminum is the most abundant metal on Earth. In addition, a byproduct of the development of bauxite ores, minerals containing aluminum, is gallium, the most valuable component of Woodall's alloy.

The scientist himself, who was awarded the highest award in the field of technology in the United States in the past, notes, along with problems of a purely economic nature, the need to conduct additional experiments on the influence of the composition and, in particular, the microstructure at the interface of the phases in a new material on its properties. Such work may well make it possible in the future to switch to the use of cheaper and more accessible metals than gallium.

The rise in energy prices stimulates the search for more efficient ones, including at the household level. Most of all, craftsmen and enthusiasts are attracted by hydrogen, whose calorific value is three times higher than that of methane (38.8 kW versus 13.8 per 1 kg of substance). The method of extraction at home seems to be known - splitting water by electrolysis. In reality the problem is much more complex. Our article has 2 goals:

• analyze the question of how to make a hydrogen generator at minimal cost;
• Consider the possibility of using a hydrogen generator for heating a private home, refueling a car, and as a welding machine.

Brief theoretical part

Hydrogen, also known as hydrogen, the first element of the periodic table, is the lightest gaseous substance with high chemical activity. During oxidation (that is, combustion), it releases a huge amount of heat, forming ordinary water. Let us characterize the properties of the element, formatting them in the form of theses:

For reference. Scientists who first separated the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen called the mixture an explosive gas due to its tendency to explode. Subsequently, it received the name Brown's gas (after the name of the inventor) and began to be designated by the hypothetical formula NHO.

From the above, the following conclusion suggests itself: 2 hydrogen atoms easily combine with 1 oxygen atom, but they part very reluctantly. The chemical oxidation reaction proceeds with the direct release of thermal energy in accordance with the formula:

2H 2 + O 2 → 2H 2 O + Q (energy)

Here lies an important point that will be useful to us in further debriefing: hydrogen reacts spontaneously from combustion, and heat is released directly. To split a water molecule, energy will have to be expended:

2H 2 O → 2H 2 + O 2 - Q

This is the formula for an electrolytic reaction that characterizes the process of splitting water by supplying electricity. How to implement this in practice and make a hydrogen generator with your own hands, we will consider further.

Creation of a prototype

So that you understand what you are dealing with, first we suggest assembling a simple generator for producing hydrogen at minimal cost. The design of a homemade installation is shown in the diagram.

What does a primitive electrolyzer consist of:

• reactor - a glass or plastic container with thick walls;
• metal electrodes immersed in a reactor with water and connected to a power source;
• the second tank plays the role of a water seal;
• tubes for removing HHO gas.

Important point. The electrolytic hydrogen plant operates on direct current only. Therefore, use an AC adapter, car charger or battery as a power source. An AC generator will not work.

The operating principle of the electrolyzer is as follows:

To make the generator design shown in the diagram with your own hands, you will need 2 glass bottles with wide necks and caps, a medical dropper and 2 dozen self-tapping screws. The full set of materials is shown in the photo.

Special tools will require a glue gun to seal plastic lids. The manufacturing procedure is simple:

To start the hydrogen generator, pour salted water into the reactor and turn on the power source. The beginning of the reaction will be marked by the appearance of gas bubbles in both containers. Adjust the voltage to the optimum value and ignite the Brown gas coming out of the dropper needle.

Second important point. It is impossible to apply too high a voltage - the electrolyte, heated to 65 ° C or more, will begin to evaporate intensively. Due to the large amount of water vapor, it will not be possible to light the burner. For details on assembling and launching an improvised hydrogen generator, watch the video:

About the Meyer hydrogen cell

If you have made and tested the design described above, then you probably noticed from the burning of the flame at the end of the needle that the performance of the installation is extremely low. To get more detonating gas, you need to make a more serious device, called the Stanley Meyer cell in honor of the inventor.

The principle of operation of the cell is also based on electrolysis, only the anode and cathode are made in the form of tubes inserted into one another. Voltage is supplied from the pulse generator through two resonant coils, which reduces current consumption and increases the productivity of the hydrogen generator. The electronic circuit of the device is shown in the figure:

Note. The operation of the circuit is described in detail on the resource http://www.meanders.ru/meiers8.shtml.

To make a Meyer cell you will need:

• a cylindrical body made of plastic or plexiglass; craftsmen often use a water filter with a lid and pipes;
• stainless steel tubes with a diameter of 15 and 20 mm, a length of 97 mm;
• wires, insulators.

Stainless steel tubes are attached to a dielectric base, and wires connected to the generator are soldered to them. The cell consists of 9 or 11 tubes placed in a plastic or plexiglass case, as shown in the photo.

The elements are connected according to a scheme well known on the Internet, which includes an electronic unit, a Meyer cell and a water seal (technical name - bubbler). For safety reasons, the system is equipped with critical pressure and water level sensors. According to reviews from home craftsmen, such a hydrogen installation consumes a current of about 1 ampere at a voltage of 12 V and has sufficient performance, although exact figures are not available.

Plate reactor

A high-performance hydrogen generator capable of ensuring the operation of a gas burner is made of stainless steel plates measuring 15 x 10 cm, quantity - from 30 to 70 pieces. Holes are drilled in them for the tightening pins, and a terminal for connecting the wire is cut out in the corner.

In addition to sheet stainless steel grade 316, you will need to buy:

• rubber 4 mm thick, resistant to alkali;
• end plates made of plexiglass or PCB;
• tie rods M10-14;
• check valve for gas welding machine;
• water filter for water seal;
• connecting pipes made of corrugated stainless steel;
• potassium hydroxide in powder form.

The plates must be assembled into a single block, isolated from each other with rubber gaskets with a cut out middle, as shown in the drawing. Tie the resulting reactor tightly with pins and connect it to the pipes with the electrolyte. The latter comes from a separate container equipped with a lid and shut-off valves.

Note. We tell you how to make a flow-through (dry) type electrolyzer. It is easier to manufacture a reactor with submersible plates - there is no need to install rubber gaskets, and the assembled unit is lowered into a sealed container with electrolyte.

The subsequent assembly of the generator producing hydrogen is carried out according to the same scheme, but with differences:

1. A reservoir for preparing electrolyte is attached to the body of the device. The latter is a 7-15% solution of potassium hydroxide in water.
2. Instead of water, a so-called deoxidizing agent is poured into the “bubbler” - acetone or an inorganic solvent.
3. A check valve must be installed in front of the burner, otherwise when the hydrogen burner is turned off smoothly, the backlash will rupture the hoses and the bubbler.

To power the reactor, the easiest way is to use a welding inverter; there is no need to assemble electronic circuits. How a homemade Brown gas generator works is explained by a home craftsman in his video:

Is it profitable to produce hydrogen at home?

The answer to this question depends on the scope of application of the oxygen-hydrogen mixture. All drawings and diagrams published by various Internet resources are designed for the release of HHO gas for the following purposes:

• use hydrogen as fuel for cars;
• smokeless combustion of hydrogen in heating boilers and furnaces;
• used for gas welding work.

The main problem that negates all the advantages of hydrogen fuel: the cost of electricity to release the pure substance exceeds the amount of energy obtained from its combustion. Whatever adherents of utopian theories may claim, the maximum efficiency of the electrolyzer reaches 50%. This means that for 1 kW of heat received, 2 kW of electricity is consumed. The benefit is zero, even negative.

Let's remember what we wrote in the first section. Hydrogen is a very active element and reacts with oxygen on its own, releasing a lot of heat. When trying to split a stable water molecule, we cannot apply energy directly to the atoms. The splitting is carried out using electricity, half of which is dissipated to heat the electrodes, water, transformer windings, and so on.

Important background information. The specific heat of combustion of hydrogen is three times higher than that of methane, but by mass. If we compare them by volume, then when burning 1 m³ of hydrogen, only 3.6 kW of thermal energy will be released versus 11 kW for methane. After all, hydrogen is the lightest chemical element.

Now let's consider detonating gas obtained by electrolysis in a homemade hydrogen generator as fuel for the above needs:

For reference. To burn hydrogen in a heating boiler, you will have to thoroughly redesign the design, since a hydrogen burner can melt any steel.

Conclusion

The hydrogen contained in NHO gas, obtained from a homemade hydrogen generator, is useful for two purposes: experiments and gas welding. Even if we ignore the low efficiency of the electrolyser and the costs of its assembly along with the electricity consumed, there is simply not enough productivity to heat the building. This also applies to the gasoline engine of a passenger car.

Obtaining hydrogen from water according to the formula H2O + C +e = -H2CO3 and +H namely water charcoal energy such as laser lightning energy or electricity. Cheap catalysts for the release of hydrogen from water and the use of an alternating voltage of 50 hertz, this can even be said to be my discovery. I have discovered a simple way to produce hydrogen from water, using a simple catalyst, graphite or charcoal.
You will find how to separate hydrogen from water using charcoal on my website http://xn--c1atbkq7d.xn--p1ai/ Nyurgun.RF, the main secret of preparing the right charcoal.
Coal needs to be burned with a lot of air, and by heating the coal above one thousand two hundred degrees, only then it becomes a catalyst for hydrogen, and the water molecule will heat up to a thousand degrees.

Preparation of graphite to produce hydrogen from water through burning coal under water. Published: Apr 25 2015
A unique combination of carbon compounds for the extraction of atomic hydrogen from fresh water without any additives.

Fast and slow burning of hydrogen(s), as evidence of the release of hydrogen from water using charcoal. Published: May 12, 2015
I use hydrogen for medicine to relieve fatigue.
It makes no difference to the consumer how their hot water is heated, whether by burning hydrocarbons or using super-efficient new technologies.