Automated Hydrogen Generator
In this video I'll show how I built my Hydrogen gas generator using electrolysis of a 10% Sodium Hydroxide solution with 316 stainless steel electrodes. Unlike an "HHO" generator, this cell separates the hydrogen from the oxygen, so it can be collected in a tank for later use. In the video, I demonstrate its usefulness as a lifting gas for a camera-carrying balloon, but my ultimate goal is to liquify it with a cryocooler at -252C or use it as a working fluid in a stirling cycle to serve as a cheap and plentiful substitute for helium. I'm also interested in using it to manufacture synthetic methane by combining it with CO2 in a process known as the Sabatier reaction.
The theoretical voltage required to separate water by electrolysis is 1.23V, but in reality it will end up being 1.5-2.0 volts, depending on the electrolyte and electrode chemistry, as well as cell temperature. In order to maximize efficiency and minimize the occurance of heating and side reactions, the voltage on a cell should be kept as low above this threshold as possible. Most industrial devices have a cell voltage somewhere between 2.2-2.5 volts. The efficiency of electrolysis is approximately the threshold voltage divided by the cell voltage.
The calculation to approximate hydrogen production rate is:
Liters per hour = V_threshold * Current * 3600 / 287,000 * 24
The production rate of oxygen gas is half this amount.
One potential pitfall of hydrogen storage in pressure vessels or use as a working fluid in cryocoolers / heat engines is the tendency for atomic hydrogen to work its way into the crystal lattice of metals and cause it to become brittle, similar to how adding carbon to steel makes it more brittle. Supposedly this can be mitigated by ensuring the hydrogen gas is totally dry, and aluminum / copper seem to be far less affected by this issue than steel.
It's important to remember that if you're using stainless steel electrodes, over a long period of time, they can degrade and release toxic chromium salts into the electrolyte, some of which may be the hexavalent (Cr6+) form of Chromium. This electrolyte can't be dumped down the drain. To dispose of it properly, you need to evaporate the water and deliver the precipitate to a hazardous waste disposal site.
Aqueous solution conductivity chart:
pdfs.semanticscholar.org/cbc5...
Music Used:
Fortaleza - Topher Mohr and Alex Elena
A small mistake i caught. Sievert (Sv) is the unit of radiation exposure risk. What you meant would be Siemens (S) which is the unit of conductance.
I was already wondering, Sv "sounded" wrong, but I didn't know the actual unit to be sure. But then again, I won't be surprised when a later project causes Sv's xD
Can also use "mho"
yes i also use semens as a unit of conductance
yup
Okay, good I thought I was going crazy for a second there lmao, had to bust out the good old wolfram alfa
I used to work in an industry where we used electrolysis. We used Ruthenium-Iridium coated Titanium electrodes and potted over the electrical connections where the ring connectors were screwed to the plates. For a home-made setup, you could probably just use titanium which is less conductive, but should last longer and keep you from producing chromium salts from the stainless steel.
I like the idea and would be easily available as backpacking cups and pots in convenient shapes and sizes. Switching from Cr to V (and probably Al) contamination will significantly (but not entirely) reduce concerns of toxicity. Still, I'll deal with V+4 over Cr+6 any day of the week. Anyone with better chemistry knowledge than this home educated guy, with no credentials, from memory, please point out my errors.
What about carbon rods? Easy to get from zinc/carbon batteries too.
I said the same thing before I saw your comment. I hope he sees our comments and any others and adjust his process accordingly. Have a wonderful everything!
Titanium oxidizes quickly to titanium dioxide which is non-conductive and firmly adheres, so the electrolysis would come to a stop. That's why its coated. Carbon works, but tends to crumble. Nickel works well.
@@iBlue0riginal people say that chrome-free stainless steel also works well. Or plain carbon steel as a cheapo expendable solution.
This channel has the right mix of engineering, craftmanship, memes and danger. I arrived here because of the joule-thompson video, but every video I watch is a bigger surprise than the last one. Keep pumping these out, man! And be careful!
Same video cued me up for space rum too...
The implementation of memes is on point
It might work to pump the hydrogen into a gasometer in the first stage (where any stray liquid coming through should fall into the water at the bottom of the gasometer) instead of a balloon/beach ball, and then have the drying chamber between the gasometer and compressor to remove any moisture gained from the gasometer before long-term storage. Should be much easier to automate than a balloon since you can just sense the height of the gasometer.
Good idea. NightHawkInLight made one out of chimney pipe- kzhead.info/sun/aMyfqtKtpYiwfpE/bejne.html
A more efficient way to go about it would be to make a refrigerated gas drier. He has a ton of various pieces/ parts of refrigeration equipment and seems to be quite handy with constructing devices with those parts. He could copy a similar unit that’s been around for a while in heavy commercial/ industrial settings called a compressed air drier. It basically has a refrigerated heat exchanger that possibly is as simple as a coax heat exchanger design that are used in swimming pool heat pumps or a “water source” heat pump (heat pump AC unit with a water cooled condenser coil. Have the harvested/ produced gas crossflow over a cold plate or through a refrigerated tube that has the collected moisture dump into some sort of catch can. There may be some way of bubbling the dried hydrogen through an oil bath as a final dry stage that hopefully doesnt change or compromise the purity/ create a dangerous compound. If it could be done safely and be inert to the hydrogen, the moisture would stay at the bottom of the oil bath and be pulled out of the dried hydrogen as it passes along to the collection ballon. The trapped water layer could be released through a tube that’s in the water and out to the atmosphere using a solenoid valve and some of his homemade level control pins and a simple timer. With refrigeration units we sometimes need a delay on make type or a delay on break type of timer. They’re available in a fully adjustable version where the time delay is set with a large dip switch bank. Anyway, some or all of that I just said may be over complicating things but the basics of using a refrigerated air (or hydrogen) drier would speed up or make the process more efficient and make a higher purity.
Apparently I was half-asleep when I was recording the audio for this video and mixed up Sieverts and Siemens. Also, for those wondering, Part III of the Joule-Thomson cryocooler series is in the works and should be the next video.
You should have seen me frantically googling to make sure I wasn't the one half-asleep! 😂
Dude… can we have… plans?
Dear HyperspacePirate, Many many thanks for these hi-ranked technical videos, it seems useful to support you, maybe with a Discord fan server; some tip-n-tricks exists with easier hydrogen storage as a gas; via magnesium or titanium hydrides, maybe lodging a "cold trap" for catching mist and moisture prior to any storage could be a part of cascade devices; enhancing the recovery of liquid water from time to time. Many many thanks also for giving us ideas and know-how; maybe you will have to enhance your brazings, weldings, making apparatuses from stainless steel pipes with spinning forming lathes... maybe making/modify some Dewar devices. Nitrogen is mandatory for protecting austenitic stainless steels; especially when heated, it's better than argon : nitrogen helps the austenite to exist at ambient or cryogenic temperatures. But nitrogen cannot be used for electric welding, because of tungsten ability to react forming tungsten nitrides. Which gives crumbling ceramic and a powerful electric isolant, thus forbidding welding via electricity. So it's better to apply nitrogen inside stainless steel vessels, and very pure argon outside. Only some parts per million of other gases are allowed; as pollutants, that will volor stainless steel on a proportional scale. The more colorful, the worse it is; as titanium welding charts also. Maybe you could make a "call of help" about the minimum quality of vacuum needed to ensure thermal insulation, between two stainless steel parts, it could be VERY useful. Looking for at least 10^-4 bar of residual pressure ? With a small CNC lathe it seems possible to obtain corrugated/ondulated stainless steel pipe from common thermos flasks; making tools and dies for embossing stainless steel; then ensuring brazing without silver, without tin, just copper+phosphorus with pure argon protective atmosphère, modern IGBT transistors can help for induction-assisted brazing copper on stainless steel, using Wood's nickel dichloride and muriatic acid melange for activating stainless steel (via few atomic layer deposited of nickel onto stainless steel), prior to copper coating/brazing, with wand brush electroless déposition technique. Warning : all salts and nickel compounds are also proven carcinogens. Please consider the usefulness of chinese little oxygen concentrators : they provide almost pure oxygen at 95% purity, enhancing argon concentration (close to 95%, nature availability is 0,93%) and reject ...nitrogen at very interesting concentrations; at 7 liters/hour for a ~$300 unit... that could be an advanced tinkering idea for making LN2, and also welding activities via enriched argon which is easier to liquefy at atmospheric pressures.. These units are using mobile piston and cylinder made of pure copper, which allows oil-free compressors to work with almost pure oxygen without instant burst/wild combustion. Best regards from a crumbling France.
And always remember : NEVER place on stainless steel a solution containing chlorure ions, at 50 ppm they allows a terrible autocatalytic corrosion phenomenon, the pitting corrosion which is impossible to stop. Molybdenum addition can provide enhanced pitting resistance (called PREN score, Pitting Resistance Equivalent Number). Always keep away from halogens when using stainless steels, the proximity of beaches / maritime climate can be an issue. Muriatic acid and chlorides should stay WELL away from your systems; they can attack even bronze alloys, on a irreversible manner. Wishing you the very best, maybe you will send us meme-painted balloons ^^' Always remember to protect stainless steel areas with vinyl tape, rinsing Wood's nickel reactant just after activation. Hope this will help to apply completely airtight/vacuum-grade assemblies.
This comment should be pinned, so people can stop mentioning the Sievert thing.
I love how this is all on one plate. Engineering isn't just about what but also how.
The relationship between voltage, current, efficiency, and time in electrochemistry is insanely complicated. I took some graduate-level courses on it and would be happy to share some of that if you want to pursue it further. The relationship between current and heating is not monotonic, but depends strongly on efficiency, which you can increase with stirring or agitation to move fluid between the electrodes. Might be tricky to do this without moving gas bubbles around, but it makes a world of different. Also consider using carbon fiber weave as a high-surface area anode that doesn't put chromium into solution. And you can nickel-plate carbon fiber for a more efficient cathode.
How well does the carbon fiber weave hold up over time? I once used a piece of pencil graphite and it dissolved in a half hour or less. Not sure how much energy was being pushed through it though, I used tap water without mixing a solution (this was several years ago, I wasn't very knowledgable at all about this at the time)
@@awesomecronk7183 Carbon fiber holds up much better than pencil graphite, except in really corrosive/oxidizing environments (ie, making sodium metal from lye electrolysis). In those cases, the much higher specific surface area of the fiber works against it. Also using tap water instead of a concentrated electrolyte solution would require higher overvoltages for a given current, which put more stress on the electrodes.
@@Nuovoswiss Good to know, thank you
@@awesomecronk7183 Pencil graphite is usually mixed with clay to produce the different lead hardnesses. I'm guessing that also played a role in your electrode disintegrating quickly and probably also having poor efficiency. Graphite rods from heavy duty zinc-carbon batteries work well!
@@N.M.E. egg xact lie. Carbon felt works ok as well I think.
Just FYI, a flyback diode and maybe a 100n snubber cap (like a ceramic capacitor), across the pump motor might help to reduce interference/electrical noise and might also keep the MOSFET alive in the long run. Very cool project, I've been wanting to build a similar setup for RC ballooning for a while :)
RC… ballooning? Interesting.
Build a rigid zeppelin!
Have you tried sticking plastic parts together with friction welding? My favorite way to stick 3d printed parts together is to put a piece of filament in the chuck of a dremel, turn it on, and trace slowly over the seams with it. The friction gently melts the filament into the seams, forming a super strong bond. Unlike a soldering iron, the dremel actually deposits fresh plastic, rather than just melting the plastic that's already there, and it causes a lot less damage to the printed surfaces. Also, the result looks just like welded metal, which is super cool.
need to try that! Thanks for the idea
Pretty cool
I built a 3kw hho torch a few years ago. I had a lot of trouble with the stainless steel anodes oxidizing (probably because I was using a much higher current and voltage to get a higher instantaneous production). If you are looking for a better material for the anode, I recommend nickel. It works really well in basic conditions. I replaced the stainless steel anodes in my system with nickel plated mild steel, and they work great, although figuring out nickel plating was a project by itself.
Bro he plated mild steal the battery connections are thin as hell and not pure nickel you would use lots and lots it probably cost lots too 😂
All you need is baking soda, DI water and Cold rolled steel electrodes and it will last FOREVER. Stainless has Chrome which is WAY too reactive!!
My Dad made something similar using a 55 gallon drum and a smaller plastic drum, the outer electrode was the steel drum and the inner electrode was stainless that was inside the plastic drum. Power source was a self excited alternator on a homemade wind turbine. He had no use for the H2, but just liked tinkering around. Dude had his issues, but there are parts of him that I miss being around. Thanks for the trigger to an old memory
I've only seen a few hydrogen generator diy builds, but this is definitely the best output to size ratio I've seen so far! Very cool
Amazing video! Just a small correction: conduction unit is siemens, not sieverts. Radiation dose is measured is sieverts.
In the past I needed a supply of hydrogen on tap and looked towards electrolysis to provide it. For the `membrane` I used a large (10inch) ceramic (red) plant pot and the electrodes were 316 grade stainless cones, one on the inside, one on the outside. Neg electrode was on the inside, h2 came out of the plant pot hole. The plant pot being totally submerged, saturated with electrolyte, allowed transfer of ions, but disallowed migration of gases. The gas (h2) was collected in much the same way as your system, with a pump to empty the collecting jar. Doing things this way mean a lot smaller distance between electrodes, hence much lower resistance. The h2 purity was more than good enough for my purposes, (shielding gas for making vacuum tube cathodes) I hope this helps. This was the only way I found to get the resistance low enough for acceptable performance with everyday materials. Chris, UK.
I really appreciate how you explained the math out loud instead of just showing it on the screen. Really makes it a lot easier for your blind viewers. Thanks! And great project! I heard about a guy who was using solar power to split hydrogen from water, fill tanks, and then use a hydrogen powered generator to run his home off grid, or at least partially off grid. I thought that was a really clever idea, especially if there was some more convenient way to do the hydrolysis. I also like the whole weather balloon thing.
I think it will always be more efficient to store the electricity (in batteries) and skip a another set of conversion steps that introduce inefficiencies.
@@pyroandy3128 I imagine they are producing hydrogen for winter
Blind listeners
One of my absolutely favorite channels. I tried doing the Aluminum reaction too. Never got as far as doing electrolysis. This is really amazing. Looking forward to the continuation of the Joule-Thompson cooler as well. Go get some heavy gauge wire for your current wires, and stay away from any Sieverts!
As a soon to be engineer im amazed at how much you know about not only what you need but also what pitfalls there are, proper practice, hazards and a general understanding of almost all of what you use. Whats your background and do you do research on the stuff beforehand or where did you learn what you know nowadays? It seems very effortless
This guy sometimes even teases us with us wanting an efficient solution or method.. while he builds the very poor design thing. Only to improve the thing tenfold in the follow up.
@@yasirrakhurrafat1142 ikr😭 im like "wait this is not a good solution, how why what is going on😨 😂
@@EtherTheReal lol. This guy definitely is sadistic. Likes to know that we are suffering. That's also why we love him. And for the memes. LoL.
Great cell design. You can use ABS plumbing cement to solvent weld ABS parts together.
Or use aceton. Thats what a lot of people in the 3d printing community use
I believe he was trying to avoid a potential reaction with the acid solution he was using. Silicone sealants are pretty inert to most things once cured but the plastic welding is probably the best way besides creating it out of one piece
Very nice! If you need advice or just want to talk hydrogen generators hit me up.
Hoping that bubbles will release from Conductors and float upward, is way too slow for efficient production of Browns Gas. A simple solution is to use a Twin 10" Water Filter Housing from any Hardware Store, with 2 x Extruded Carbon Filters (preferably Silver Impregnated), which have wires attached with conductive Glue, and connected to a 30kHz PWM driver circuit. The Electrolyte is pumped through the Filters using a brushless DC water Pump, into a recovery chamber where gases can be extracted under vacuum, before the electrolyte is circulated through the filters continuously. The average surface area of a 10" Water Filter is approx 4000 square meters, which allows electrolyte to remain in constant contact with the conductive carbon filters, and the flow created by the brushless DC Pump ensures that any gases are constantly being removed. A brushless DC vacuum pump is not essential, but will improve the efficiency of the entire system and accelerate gas recovery from electrolyte returning to recovery chamber.
@@delawarecopcan you create a simple show case video or album? I'm curious about it but have a hard time imagining it from a comment and I also would love to know if you have a working prototype :)
@@natheyshiro4119 - I did a working prototype in 2006 in my garage, ut that was 2 houses ago. I do have components here to build another, but am tied up with other projects atm. You don't need to visualize it, just get a stock photo of a twin water filter housing, a brushless DC water pump, and a clear plastic container sitting beside it as the storage for water electrolyte, with enough space above the water level as gas recovery - and you have the basic principle.
Be careful recovering the hydrogen from the balloon, due different gas concentrations there might be an osmotic difference great enough that could make air diffuse into the balloon increasing oxygen levels. All depends about the gas permeability of the balloon and the time but still be careful.
My dad gave me a latex balloon with hydrogen to me when I was a kid. Obviously I set fire to it when it wasn't lighter than air anymore, as you do, and I got a surprisingly loud and distinct bang, with distinct "waves" of echoes.
Very interesting, balloon materials being permeable?
@@kaerajpeterayes most materials like plastics and rubbers are permeable. That’s why helium balloons start to lose their shape after awhile and sink. A simple rubber hose really can’t be used long term for refrigerants as the molecules will leak out, more so as the hose material ages due to heat and exposure.
lol, was just going to post that, good someone already did! reference: "Cody'sLab Self Inflating Balloons?! "
Pure hydrogen don't explode, just burn. explosion due to oxygen mixed with hydrogen.
One thing could help in two ways is use of a thermostat to cycle the electrolysis off when temp. is above a set level. This would keep it in a more efficient range and keep evaporation down, less to remove. Though this might increase the time to make x volume, it might be worth a longer run if time isn't real critical.
Heck yah, been waiting for an update! Love this backyard garage science series. Been interested in cryo-cooling since talking with a presenter at defcon 30. Keep up the great work, and thanks for sharing your trials and tribulations.
Your videos are, by far, the most interesting I've seen. I work at an industrial processing facility as well as run my own processes at home for fun and you've inspired me a ton to work on my projects.
Fantastic video. Clear, concise and to the point, with a dash of humor. Can't wait for the next one!
Just the right amount of cutting-edge science and bodging!
For safety maybe include an inline oxygen absorber. There are iron-based scavenger packets designed for the purpose but hand warmers work too. Alternatively, a bit of platinum would catalytically form water and have the benefit of not needing replacement over time. Probably set this up before your silica trap.
I can't believe how well these videos are made on top of containing so much information!
Hyperspace Pirate, thank you for such a thorough yet succinct and well-reasoned presentation! If only All technical project presentations were this well done!!
I love your work man, always really cool detailed projects with ever increasing quality. I have some suggestions for possible improvements that you may or may not have considered. Temperature sensor in the cell to avoid thermal runaway or to simply remain under a set temp. You could also use a simple optimization algorithm to balance power input and temperature. A humidity sensor on the output of the dryer bottle to halt the system and alert you when you need to replace your silica beads. A flow sensor to log output, though you could just calibrate your vessel and count each time you evacuate it. My most expensive idea is a radiator to exhaust heat, it would be hard to get the right parts for that though. Actually, a coiled stainless pipe could act as either your anode or cathode and you can run your coolant through it. Two birds with one stone on that one. Anyway, keep up the great work! Can't wait to see what you build next
Like 95-99% of this went completely over my head but I appreciate how you also talk about potential risks and how to mitigate and safety dispose of stuff
I am VERY glad that you are pursuing this in particular, I wanted to see solutions for production and storage of hydrogen for a while now, because I wanted to experiment with the prospect of using it as a battery. What I can contribute to you is a much more efficient (as far as my VERY limited understanding knows) electrolyzer. The dry cell is the idea that you sandwich a number of plates extremely close together. One proposed to be even better is a model by Hysata, those should be available in 2025.
I always love watching your videos! Thanks for bringing us along on your discovery process!
Hexchrome is most dangerous as an inhalant, so when allowing the water to evaporate do not let the residue become completely dry, dispose of it as a slury and wear a n95 during handing. :)
The chemistry of a Nafion/PEM style electrolysis cell is completely different. It involves the doping of the polymer membrane with superacid terminations to allow H+ currents to flow freely through the membranes, instead of electron currents running the other way. Thats why they don't use a solution with ions present, they actually use 18 MOhm pure water. Either way, they are expensive, but super convenient/compact/lightweight/etc. I have one that I use to feed hydrogenation reactions.
Now you have me intrigued! 1.) Where did you end up getting yours and 2.) What type of reactions are you doing (If you don’t mind sharing of course)
check fuel cell store@@ericlotze7724
i think this is the first electrolysis setup ive seen on yt producing pure hyrdrogen, great job!
What a great video! I am truly amazed by the creativity and enginuity out there. I've work with hho generators in the past, and have always been fascinated with the simplicity of them. Why aren't more people doing this? What other uses could we have for the gas? Could you use it to power a small engine? Either way, you've got yourself a new sub! 👍🏼
I am speechless. Never have i seen such a Neat and functional H-Generator, in a DIY kind of way. It is such a Entertaining and informative video that my only real criticism are the Sievert(sv) and Simens(s) mistake. If i ever want to make an H-Generator, i will shamelessly copy your design. Have a Nice day and make great videos however long they take.
1:24 *In USCSB Video Presenter Voice* “They thought a Faceshield wasn’t needed, this assumption proved to be deadly”
Thank you for idea with lift calculation on normal scale. That is simply Genius in its simplicity.
Amazing project! So nicely done with all special features and automation and 3D printed parts 😍
Industry minimum V is around 1.43v. I think they are also using that voltage as the baseline for efficiency calcs. The promising workaround for zero gap sans Nafion, etc., is PES (polyethersulfone) filtration membranes and probably nickel foam electrodes sandwiched between bipolar plates of Ti, with a goal of around 2v and below. That def wont look nearly as cool, however 😁
Just a heads up with silica gel, it will remove a lot of moisture but not all of it. If you want to remove all of you'll need to use some 3A molecular sieves in a second bottle, or P2O5 chamber, or bubble through 98% sulfuric, or use a cryogenic cooler to condense it all.
What a fantastic, high-paced video ! Really enjoyed it. Learned loads, too. Matt Lee
Loving these projects, and the way you edit your videos. Keep up the good work!
This is a really clever design! I used to help launch balloons in college. We used an amateur radio system called APRS to track the balloon.
I've thought it would be really interesting to build up an open-source catalog of this sort of projects for different sorts of small scale processes. Combine this with a nitrogen purification cell and an electrically driven Haber-Bosch or Frank-Car cell (along with the needed cells to recycle the other feed stocks) and you could turn surplus solar power into Ammonia which is an important fertilizer (and if you don't want to store that, a Bosch-Meiser cell can make urea which is also a fertilizer). Another interesting option would be Methanol synthesis (which would likely require a CO2 sequestration cell) as a reasonably storable and high energy chemical fuel.
I honestly think your suggestion would get the channel and community banned
@@lelagrangeeffectphysics4120 most of what I'm thinking of would likely work better in a different format than KZhead. Wikis and cad files for example. But I agree; sadly the difference between making the world a better place chemistry and arms design is often little more than what you plan to do with it. 😕
@@benjaminshropshire2900 Teaching people how to make their own arms is a part of the right to bear arms, it shouldn't even be a question that disseminating this information is legal, even *if* the intent is arms design and not "making the world a better place" (some argue those are the same thing). Unfortunately, the modern US government likes to use the Constitution as toilet paper. Disband the BATFE!
Brilliant work. Research, followed by testing, design, and the building of the rig. I thoroughly enjoyed watching your video. As regards hydrogen embrittlement that you mentioned, this is a very real problem. So much so, that the power station where I spent most of my career had to instal a hydrogen generation plant (using methanol feedstock) to provide hydrogen for alternator cooling instead of the racks of steel cylinders that were formerly used. It can also lead to weld failure if welding rods are not adequately dried before use. With some welds that I examined, I did not even have to get my test equipment connected- I could see the cracks!
Thanks for sharing this project. I like that you included a lot of the theory of operation and also the idea of re-packaging the power supply circuitry inside printed parts to make everything uniform was clever. really nice looking printed parts and visual humor. good video
It's Siemens, not Sieverts
Another Hyperspace Pirate Video. My favourite KZheadr!
same, I drop everything and stop breathing when there is a new video to watch
And Cody`s Lab!!
This series has been my favorite on KZhead in a long time. If you ever get to liquid helium in your garage, I’d be just as impressed as when I saw Ben from applied science make his SEM in his.
Thank you so much. I did some experiments myself and had questions i couldnt find answers to. now years later everything makes sense.
What about printing in PET? Also, there’s an open source design for a frame and cord harness that passively stabilizes cameras. I remember seeing a presentation from a citizen science activist group using this to fly balloons over refineries, where drones were prohibited.
Will also get eaten by NaOH
PET is an ester. It will be saponified (digested) into terephthalic acid and ethylene gas pretty quickly.
Something you might be able to use as a permeable membrane is expanded PTFE. It is porous, so will have no problem letting electrolyte through, but I think it would stop any gas bubbles from migrating. Might be a lot cheaper than the stuff the professionals use.
Ive thought about doing this with 2 stainless steel "test tubes" upturned in a KOH solution, and painted or powder coated on the outside, that way when one of both of the tubes fill with gas, the circuit is broken and the electrolysis will stop. The current could also be measured to determine when the tubes are full. Ideally, the paint would go slightly inside the end of the tube to prevent bubbling out. ideally, both the hydrogen and oxygen could be collected. Cool project, thanks for sharing.
I must commend you on design as I've tried for months to figure out how to utilize a circular design similar to this why maximizing selectivity of H2. I thought about a rod anode and circular plate cathode, similar to a magnetron, but didn't think about both being circular to increase surface area. So thank you for this design inspiration.
Argh Pirates, here we are.
siemens
maybe the water is coming direct from fukushima
It seems a waste of good tritium. Once we figure out fusion fukushima water will be valuable@@nullptr472
Incredible well made video and engineering process. 10/10. Congratulations.
If I were to make a guess I would say that your trying to produce a devise that could freeze liquid hydrogen for transportation safety. (HHO generator/chryocooler) but that's just a guess. Your a smart man and I enjoy your videos. Good narrating voice, not condescending at all. I like that part allot. I'm subscribed and impressed. Thank you for sharing your education and experience 🙂
Incredible! I've been looking for someone who knows how to do the math on these exact questions. Awesome work.
Absolutely fantastic video, very informative on the how and why but with plenty of showing us what to do to!
If someone would have explained the world to me like this maybe o would have achieved greater things in life.. massive respect dude this was amazing..
As a kid, we used to make hydrogen, and fill garbage bags with it. Then, we'd tie long strips of paper or fuse with a firecracker, light them, and let them go. They'd go WAY up in the air, then burst into a huge fireball. It was awesome, especially at night!
God bless the people like you who chop of days of trying and researching; I wish I had KZhead when I was at the university!
Awesome video, it's my 80's childhood in a nutshell. Splitting H2O into H and O.
This is one great video HP. One thing I have to touch base with you Sir on voltage used for electrolysis. My college professor stated the best voltage for the process is supposedly 16 to 18 volts. Since that was years ago I do not remember the other factors he stated. I have experimented with electrolysis, and the best way to pass voltage through the cell is to use a pulse width modulator to control the heating process of the cells solution. When using just straight DC current the heating part gets out of hand. You just end up heating the solution which slows down the reaction of gasmaking. One last thing I noticed with my HHO cell. I wanted to get rid of the frothing and misting above the fluid part of the cell. Came up with using an ultrasound transducer to keep the bubbles from insulating the fluid contact of the plates. This worked just excellent fella. Hope that helps you out in the future work with your ideas fella. Good day Sir too. vf
Very clever, thank you for the demonstration.
Stuff like this always interests me and its potential to be used for lots of different things, the big thing is being safe.
Dude you’ve got the makings of a popular product there. If excess solar power could be used to run this gas generator/ storage apparatus then on rainy days the stored hydrogen could be used to run a generator to recharge an off grid battery bank. I recommend you keep improving this apparatus. Totally awesome
i would imagine that the losses from converting the electrical energy to chemical and then back would be greater than just storing the solar energy in a battery; not to mention the increased mess, hassle, and danger of electrolysis
Use acetone to weld ABS parts together. Also its glass transition temperature is around 105C (221F) and it should survive boiling water, (though not forever as the heat deflection temp is around 98C) so you shouldn't need to worry about that.
The embrittlement acts on a whole lot of materials, big reason why hydrogen is still not used often for transport, but it will also affect your abs, its not only the natriumhydroxide. Great vid!
I am completely satisfied and impressed with your project and explanation. I have been observing and researching fuel cells a bit. But I'm having difficulty finding what could replace/cheaper the catalysts. Which the cheapest would be using Chrome. But I still haven't been able to see how to put it it in a small size, enough to be able to replace a motorcycle battery.
Very interesting project! I've done some HHO generators when I was hellbent on building a miniature high temperature torch. BTW, Sievert is a unit of ionizing radiation - in Europe we use Siemens for conductivity.
Love your setup. It's Industrial Design for DIY!
I used to use the carbon rods out of old batteries for this. I don't know if the resistance of the carbon would be a problem but you are great at figuring this stuff out.
The issue is not the resistance but the fact that carbon rods exfoliate into graphite flakes when used as anodes. They essentially cruble to dust pretty quickly.
Thanks for linking to the conductivity table!
Really cool project. Thanks for making the video.
Another fantastic video. Keep up the solid content really enjoying it.
Super cool build and thanks for the warning about chromates 👍
Nice with the engineering that is missing in most HHO/H2 vids, thanks!
If you look at the output of your power supply, you'll see a little trim potentiometer on the left. You can probably use it to tweak the voltage down a volt or two and get it slightly more efficient.
Holy cow, best video on youtube about hydrogen electrolysis
Well, when i was on my hydrogen kick i was trying to use it as a fuel to replace a need for an acetylene torch. And potentially even burn a steel furnace with it. I did a stacked cell and was making hydroxy gas (trying for an on demand system). While i now can afford acetylene whats really preventing me from working on this is my hydroxy cell blew up. I was unharmed (thank god for the foresight to put up a blast barrier) but very rattled from the experience. All that said im extremely impressed by your setup. Edit: i forgot to mention oxyhydride gas is used in glass crafts as it doesn't leave soot like other gasses.
I saw another youtuber paint a non conductive surface with a carbon paint after which he electroplated it with metal. It gave me the long alas idea of finally how to make a very cheap platinum electrode. Using that method the electrod could even be "painted" onto the body of the electrolysis, saving room or extra parts.
You are absolutely brilliant! Please do a future project testing hydrogen hybrid gas engine! Would be interesting to see how it effects things, I've heard both good and bad.
This is golden for so many reasons!! Thank you!
Have done that chemically several decades back(water,anhydrous calcium carbonate(lime), sodium bicarbonate(baking soda),aluminum foils from discarded pill packs). Utilized an unused grandpa's urinal collector bag(since it had a one way valve) to accumulate and dispense to balloons. Giving away those to excited little children was the real fun😊❤👍
Though platinum is expensive a very thin foil if it, or plated metal shouldn't be too expensive. Very nice video and knowledge on this topic.
So inspiring, Chemistry, Electronics and engineering, in one video
This is superb video! Thank you for all your efforts!!!
I helped someone make one once. it used 12V-14V and targeted 2V per cell. So it had a plate and then several isolated floating plates before the next powered plate. This meant that it was like having several units in series.
Very good video thank you. You can buy in-line gas driers for a lot of compressors and maybe a flashback arrestor is a good call.
Hey, very professional and nice to watch videos! Keep it up, love your content!
The resulting hydrogen can be passed through ice water to cool the gas. then pass it through silica gel, this will help the desiccant work longer.
Oh boy! It's a video from refrigerator-man! I freaking love those :) today's a good day, i can listen to it while working, not understand ANYTHING, and rewatch it again while eating, again, not understanding a thing, then watch it while having tea later, then i will understand it xD
Lovely video, great project!
Your video clip is incredible professional, love it.
Interesting stuff, I’ve built a few generators in my time, only HHO ones tho in order to make explosive balloons lol. Though I have thought about what other electrodes which could be used instead Stainless steel and I’ve thought about using Nickel instead due to its corrosion resistance to caustic environments like NaOH such as used in this cell.
awesome video. thank you for sharing your knowledge and the effort to make this video.