Hydrogen, the most abundant chemical element, has a couple of timely uses. It is commonly used for the production of ammonia and the upgrading of fossil fuels. Both ammonia and fossil fuels can be used as alternative methods for combustion, which present themselves as possible remedies for the current fuel crisis that the world is experiencing. As a concerned citizen, you should know how to process hydrogen. You can never tell when the world’s supply of fuel will run out, so a supply of homemade hydrogen might come in handy.

Science Experiment

Hydrogen may be widely abundant but it has to go through a few scientific processes before it can be considered useful. The element is often attached to other compounds, when collected from water and its other resources. You must perform a simple scientific experiment if you are to liberate pure nitrogen from its chemical bonds. Be careful when handling hydrogen because it is pretty reactive and caustic.

Two Methods To Gather Hydrogen

Two options are available for processing hydrogen. One involves the creation of a makeshift hydrogen processor. The other requires you to mix chemicals and produce reactions just like your chemistry classes back in high school.

• Hydrogen Processor
• Chemical Reaction Method

The two methods may vastly differ in procedures, but you should wear safety gear for both. Remember, hydrogen is a reactive substance. Constant contact may damage your skin and organs. Wear rubber gloves, goggles and exercise proper caution.

Hydrogen Processor

To extract hydrogen from water, you must perform the scientific process called electrolysis. Electrolysis, normally done in science labs, can be accomplished without using chemicals. You will instead use several ordinary items to separate hydrogen from water. The secret of this method’s success is that it follows the same logic used in science labs to produce hydrogen.

Materials Used:

• 9-volt battery
• 2 electrical wires with clips
• 2 pencils
• water
• glass
• cardboard
• electrical tape
• sharpener
• cutter
• puncher
• test tube with cover

Procedure:

Utmost Efficiency Required

Manipulating the materials and forming the apparatus are fun to do. You will feel a sense of achievement after creating the device. The only problem is, its production efficiency can be questionable. The quality and quantity of the hydrogen extracted might be inconsistent due to these factors:

• errors in measurement
• heat and energy loss
• not collecting the entire amount of hydrogen

The hydrogen processor’s efficiency is hugely dependent on how you perform each step of the procedure. One slight miscalculation or error can cost the success of the project, so you must handle each step with care.

Chemical Reaction Method

Mixing chemicals is a more conventional way of producing usable hydrogen. After causing several chemical reactions, you can extract hydrogen from items like water, steam and aluminum. The problem with this method is the availability of materials and the amount of chemical knowledge required. Consult your old chemistry books if you want to pull off any of the hydrogen-extracting methods.

Four Ways to Extract Hydrogen

Chemicals and elements have distinct properties but some of them produce similar reactions when mixed with water and other items that contain hydrogen. These reactions provide several options for isolating and collecting the hydrogen content of certain materials. Here are four ways to extract hydrogen using chemicals and their corresponding chemical formulae:

• methane and steam method - CH4 + H2O -> CO + 3 H2
• hydrochloric acid and zinc method - Zn + 2HCl -> Zn2+ + H2 + 2Cl
• acid, aluminum and water method - 2Al + 6H2O -> 2Al(OH)3 + 3H2
• carbon monoxide and steam method - CO + H2O -> CO2 + H2

The only way to produce hydrogen using any of those methods is to arrive at their designated chemical formulae. You can heat, douse and mix the materials, as long as you are able to generate the formula assigned to your method of choice. Consult a professional if you have problems with any of the methods.

Hydrogen has wide array of uses. When producing hydrogen, not only are you getting an alternative fuel source, but also a raw material for solvents and fertilizers. Make life even more convenient by learning how to extract such a versatile substance.

Watch The Videos

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