Hydrogen Generator

Hydrogen is the most abundant and the lightest element in the world and is a colorless, odorless gas that is completely nontoxic. About 10 million tons of hydrogen is used in the United States alone for industrial purposes. It has been estimated that in the future, we are going to need about 10 times the current hydrogen used to sustain our industries.

What is a Hydrogen Generator

Simply stating, a hydrogen generator is a device that is used to produce hydrogen. They are relatively easy to make and if you require hydrogen in small amounts, then you can even make them at home. If your requirements is huge or for the sake of convenience, you can even purchase these generators.

The uses of the hydrogen generator are far too many to count. However, currently the most important use of the hydrogen generator is to power a vehicle. Manufacturers around the world are working on prototypes of vehicles that can run only on hydrogen. It has been predicted that these vehicles will not only be eco friendly, they will also be very efficient. But these cars are years away from full fledged production and usage.

However, you can fix in a hydrogen generator to your vehicle but there are many factors that you will have to consider especially safety as you will have to store hydrogen tanks in the car other than the generator itself as the generator cannot produce hydrogen at the speed with which it is consumed by the vehicle. Using hydrogen generators in new cars is not recommended as it may make your warranty void. However, hydrogen kits are available in the market that can be installed in your vehicles. It is very simple to assemble and you will be able to extreme far better power. These kits do not replace the need for hydrogen; rather they serve as a catalyst to the gasoline or the diesel fuel. Depending on the kind of kit you install in your vehicle, you will be able to obtain 10% - 60% better efficiency (mileage) from your fuel. Do weigh out all the safety risks and also whether using the kit is legal in the state that you are driving your car in.

Here are some of the reasons as to why hydrogen generators are used wherever we get an opportunity:

• Hydrogen burns very easily in oxygen producing a large amount of energy and the only residue that is produced is water. As no carbon is released, combustion of hydrogen produces no threat to global warming.
• Hydrogen is completely non-toxic while other petroleum fuels like petroleum are asphyxiates which are poisonous to humans and animals.
• When the hydrogen gas is ignited, the flames move upward. Also, the gas is quickly consumed and incase of a hydrogen leak, there will be no pollution of water or land. It will simply dissipate into the atmosphere. In contrast to this, vapors produced by gasoline products remain a threat for a long time after the flame is extinguished.
• Hydrogen gas has a flash point of about 550 C while petroleum products have a flash point that varies between 300 C – 500 C depending on the grade of the product. This makes the hydrogen gas less susceptible to accidental fires.

Types of Hydrogen Generators

The following are the most common techniques used in hydrogen generators to produce hydrogen:

• Electrolysis of Water: These type of generators use high pressure bi-polar or conventional cells to dissociate water. The power that is consumed is as low as 5 KW per cubic meter of hydrogen produced. Hydrogen produced by this method is 99.8% pure and can be stored in tanks for usage later.
• Dissociation of Ammonia: Commercial grade Ammonia stored in tanks or cylinders is catalytically dissociated into nitrogen and hydrogen. The resultant gas contains 75% hydrogen and 25% nitrogen. The hydrogen produced can be further purified in molecular sieves to remove traces of ammonia and moisture. These types of generators are very cheap but the rate at which hydrogen gas is produced is very low.

Looking Ahead

Soon, power generated by hydrogen will replace all the carbon emitting, pollution creating, ozone destroying and natural resources depleting cars. Wow. Till then, let us do our best to stop pollution and create a better world for our children.