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Hydrogen Produced from Aluminum and Water Friday, February 27, 2009 - Janice Karin Home >> News >> General Technology   
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Scientists at Pennsylvania State University and Virginia Commonwealth University are producing hydrogen by exposing clusters of aluminum atoms to water. Rather than relying on the electronic properties of the aluminum, this new process depends on the geometric distribution of atoms within the clusters and requires the presence of Lewis acids and Lewis bases in those atoms. Unlike most hydrogen production processes, this method can be used at room temperature and doesn't require the application of heat or electricity to work.
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This process only works if a Lewis acid site and a Lewis base site are in close enough proximity to each other to interact with the same water molecule. The researchers experimented with a variety of different cluster patterns, discovering three that result in hydrogen production. This is the first study that shows any effect from the geometric distribution of aluminum atoms within a cluster rather than its electronic properties.
TFOT has reported on several new methods for generating hydrogen gas, including a new method for releasing hydrogen from nitrogen-fixing bacteria, a new process for extracting hydrogen from unrefined oil, and a cobalt phosphate catalyst for separating water into hydrogen and oxygen. TFOT has also reported on many new hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen powered vehicles including a new hydrogen fuel cell and gas distribution system light enough for use on an unmanned helicopter, Boeing's tests of a hydrogen powered manned airplane, and the world's smallest hydrogen fuel cell, measuring a mere 3x3x1 millimeters.
More information on the hydrogen producing aluminum clusters can be found in this Penn State news article. You can also find basic information on cluster research in the Penn State chemistry department at the Castleman Group homepage. |
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Does the process also release Oxygen as a gas? If not, then how does this process differ from using aqueous NaOH to do the same thing? |
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Due to the enormous costs of aluminum refinement, doesn't this require more energy to harvest hydrogen than electrolysis? |
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\"Researchers plan to ... explore ways to reuse the aluminum clusters over and over again for hydrogen production.\" They\'re aware of the issues, and are looking for the second part of the process. I\'m fascinated with the basis of the experiment. A chemical change that did not depend on the electrical qualities of aluminum, but on the simple shape of a cluster of atoms. What other materials may exhibit similar behavior that may also be useful? |
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where does the energy come from? is the oxygen binding to the aluminium? if yes this gains us nothing |
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As a chemist I\'m not sure that there is anything here except the fact that water will react with an active metal to form hydrogen gas irreversibly -- something that is well known. Is the breakthrough a better understanding of the mechanism, the use of atom clusters or something about the resulting oxide that suggests that this is the basis for a catalytic process? |
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Traditional hydrocarbons are not 'fuel', they are actually simply an energy storage medium. If you start looking at it that way instead of 'free energy', the storing energy in the form of pure aluminum starts to make sense. A website (LAYO) published a system from the 1980s that used water and aluminum to release hydrogen, enough to power an automobile. Safer than gasoline (low H2 free gas volume), high-efficiency proven recycling, can use electricity as the primary energy source... there are many reasons aluminum-to-hydrogen makes sense as the next step away from hydrocarbons for vehicles. Internal combustion engines can use it now, fuel cell vehicles can use it now and tomorrow, and even fuel cell backup generators for home or industry could use it. Stop thinking in terms of 'fuel' and start analyzing where the energy really came from. Our supply of 'free' energy is expensive in so many ways, we have to look at alternatives... and this one makes sense |
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I think the reaction with NaOH and oxygen will produce H2 and aluminum oxide wich can be reprocesses with energy from solar or wind.The H2 when used with air will make H2O again. I still like electrolysis directly better. Mr.Kansius passed away recently.He was using microwaves to seperate salt water into hydrogen. Lets get this hydrogen movement going.. |
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I think the reaction with NaOH and oxygen will produce H2 and aluminum oxide wich can be reprocesses with energy from solar or wind.The H2 when used with air will make H2O again. I still like electrolysis directly better. Mr.Kansius passed away recently.He was using microwaves to seperate salt water into hydrogen. Lets get this hydrogen movement going.. |
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The reaction with NaOH and Al will not produce Al2O3. It will produce AlOH and or NaAlOH. Either way it is still a renewable energy source. Purdue U uses a 95/5 alloy of Al and Ga-Sn-In as an internal catalyst to make Hydrogen from Water. The only draw back is not being able to use Al scrap. W3ig(.net) does not publicize it\'s creation of a system to use AL scrap, but it is quite effective and they have developed a reactor to control this volatile reaction |
