Investigation of a hydrogen production process through aluminum and water chemical reaction

Abstract

This thesis reported a novel hydrogen production experimental set up, which utilized the chemical reaction between aluminum and water to produce hydrogen. The constructed experimental setup had an aluminum powder spraying subsystem integrated within the overall setup. The effectiveness of this experimental set up was improved by using a fine size aluminum powder of 149 microns, and nitrogen gas as the medium to facilitate the spraying of the aluminum powder. In order to remove the oxide layer, this thesis study utilized sodium hydroxide as the reaction promoter. The various experimental conditions implemented during the testing process included changes in water temperature and system performance. The criteria used to evaluate system performance were the conversion efficiency, hydrogen production rate and the overall energy and exergy efficiencies. Although the tap water and additional sodium hydroxide displayed better results, seawater achieved a conversion efficiency of 58.8% which can be considered a viable option for future testing.