PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN USING ALKALI ELEKTROLYSIS-ENERGYSAVING USING IONICACTIVATORS
Filip Bošković
Zemunska gimnazija, Zemun, filipbos26@gmail.com
electrolytically separated hydrogen on Ni cathode, of the
current density at different
1. The purpose of the investigation
If the price of crude oil, which is growing rapidly in recent
years, is any indicator, it is clear that we are at the beginning
of the energy crisis, and we witness the end of cheap and
abundant energy.Hydrogen is an energy medium of the
future, which will probably replace slowly disappearing,
fossil fuels.Its use does not pollute the environment as a
product of its use for energy, water.Development in the field
of electrolysis, leading to the reduction of energy
consumption in the production of hydrogen.The aim of the
research is to examine the possibilities of saving energy
during electrolytic hydrogen separation from alkaline
solutions by adding so-called. ion activators in the
electrolyte.
2. Methods of the investigation
In this experiment cobalt complex was examined, tris
(ethylenediamine) cobalt (III) ion, as the ionic activator.The
apparatus made at the "Vinca" was used, which consists of
electrolytic cells, galvanostat, specially designed containers
to capture the separated hydrogen, system for temperature
maintenance and measuring devices.To maintain the desired
tempterature a water thermostat was used.Both electrodes
were made of nickel. The experiments were carried out so
that using a galvanostat to task specific current, for which
then measures the voltage and time separation.During the
work 6M KOH was used as the basic electrolyte, and
examination consumption of energy were performed by
adjusting the electric current and the temperature, first in the
solution of basic electrolyte and then adding the ionic
activators to the basic electrolyte solution.SEM was used for
obtaining the images of electrodes (before and after the
electrolysis process).
3. Results
The
consumed
energy
formula Q  U  I  t .
The
was
results
calculated
will
be
by
temperatures: a) basic electrolitand b)ionic activatorbased
othe complex of [Co (en) 3] Cl3 inthe basic electrolyte.
Chart 1. The dependence of the the energy consumption of
the current density at different temperatures (6M KOH)
Chart 2. The dependence of the the energy consumption of
the current density at different temperatures(6M KOH+ionic
activator)
It can be seen that the electricity consumption increases with
increasing of the current density of the basic electrolyte with
and without ionic activators. At higher temperatures,
electricity consumption decreases, and therefore waslowest
energy at a temperature of 700C (343K). When adding ionic
activators in the basic electrolyte solution electricity
consumption drops significantlyand that was proved the
hypothesis presented in the paper.SEM images of coating of
the electrode after electrolysis showed nodular structure of
sediment greater active surface area compared to pure nickel
electrode.
the
presented
graphically as Q = f (j) i Q = f (j,T), where is j current
density (j = I/S, S represents the total area of the
electrode).Using the results of measurements graphics were
done, depending on the energy consumption per 1 mol of
4. Conclusion
Showed that the total energy of the electrolysis process
decreases with increasing temperature. For higher current
density, power consumption is higher. The application of
energy obtained per mole of hydrogen reduced by 11% with
the addition of ionic activators compared with conventional
electrolyte. During the in situ use of ionic activators
produced a nice black deposit on the surface of Ni cathode,
which has a very developed area with uniformly distributed
pores and a large number of possible active sites.