Methods of production of hydrogen

1. Hydrogen production through electrolytic

process or Electrolysis of water
2. Thermo- chemical process
3. Fossil fuel process
4. Iron-steam process
5. Solar energy method

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Hydrogen production through electrolytic process

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• The process of splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen by means of a device
called electric current is known as electrolysis.
• Electrolysis is the process of producing hydrogen and oxygen from water in an
electrochemical cell.

• In this principle, an electrolysis cell consists of 2 electrodes , commonly Flat

metal or carbon plates immersed in an aqueous conducting solution called to be
electrolyte.
• Adding an electrolyte like salt improves the conductivity of water and increases
the efficiency of the process.

• A source of DC voltage is connected to the electrodes so that an electric current

flows through the electrolyte from the +ve electrode ( anode ) to the –ve
electrode ( cathode).

• As a result, the water in the electrolyte solution is decomposed into hydrogen gas
(H2) which is released at the cathode and oxygen gas (O 2) released at the anode.

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• Although only the water is split, an electrolyte ( solution of
sodium or potassium hydroxide solution ) required because water
is a very poor conductor of electricity.

• Ideally a voltage of 1.23 volts should be sufficient for the

electrolysis of water at normal pressure and temperature.

• However, in practice , the decomposition speed increases with

higher voltage.
• Generally, 2V DC supply is used to get better results and
hydrogen production.

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 Thermo- chemical process
• Conversion efficiency of production of hydrogen through
electrolysis is about 35 % only ( Limitations).

• Conversion efficiency of production of hydrogen through thermo-

chemical process is about 50 % only.
• Thermo-chemical process needs very high temperature around
2000 degree C, which limits the direct conversion process.
• Thermo-chemical water splitting processes use high-temperature
heat (500°–2,000°C) to drive a series of chemical reactions that
produce hydrogen. The chemicals used in the process are reused
within each cycle, creating a closed loop that consumes only water
and produces hydrogen and oxygen.

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Hydrogen can be separated from hydrocarbons through the application of heat
known as reforming.
Steam reforming:
Steam reforming uses thermal energy to separate hydrogen from the carbon
components in methane and methanol .
The first step of the reaction decomposes the fuel into hydrogen and carbon
monoxide. Then a ‘shift reaction’ changes the carbon monoxide and water to carbon
dioxide and hydrogen. These reactions
occur at temperatures of 200oC.
The endothermic reforming reaction is:
CH4 + H2 O +206 (kJ/kg)  CO +3H2
It is usually followed by the exothermic shift reaction:
CO + H2 O  CO2 + H2 +41(kJ/kg)
The overall reaction is:
CH4 + 2H2 O +165(kJ/kg)  CO2 +4 H2

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 Fossil fuel methods
• In this method fossil fuels like coal, petroleum products or natural
gas are used to produce a mixture of carbon monoxide and
hydrogen.
• These mixtures can be used for an intermediate heat value fuel
gas, synthesis gas .
• They make use of steam reforming of methane or other
hydrocarbon gas or light liquid hydro carbon and partial oxidation
of heavier hydrocarbons in the presence of steam at high
temperature .
• The carbon monoxide is reacted with steam to produce carbon
dioxide and hydrogen.
CO + H2 O  CO2 + H2 +41(kJ/kg)

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 Solar Energy Method
• There are two types of solar energy by which hydrogen can be
produced .
a) Bio-photolysis :
b) Photo-electrolysis :

a) Bio-photolysis : (Bio-chemical process)

• In this process, microorganism such as algae and blue green algae
are used to split water into H2 and O2 .
• In normal photosynthesis in the green plants, the chlorophyll uses
the solar energy and breaks water molecules into O2 , hydrogen ions
and electrons.
• Thus oxygen released by the green plants, while the hydrogen ions
and electrons are combined with atmosphere carbon dioxide to form
the food (sugar molecules ) 8
• In these , the second stage of photosynthesis can be avoided by
eliminating CO2.
• In the absence of CO2, the H2 ions and electrons combine to form
H2 gas.
• Thus exposure of these algae to sunlight and water produces a
mixture of O2 and H2 gases which can be separated by various
methods.

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 b) Photo-electrolysis:
• It is similar to water electrolysis, except for the DC energy
sources
• In photo-electrolysis, the solar energy is used as the external
sources of energy to split the water molecules in to hydrogen
and oxygen.
• The necessary energy for the chemical process is produced by
exposing the electrodes to sunlight.
• The electrodes are semi-conductors which are able to absorb
solar energy to produce an electric current.
• This energy is then used to dissociate water to release H2
and O2 gases at their respective electrodes. However, this
process has a very low conversion efficiency.

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 Applications of Hydrogen Gas
1. Domestic Applications :
It can be used for cooking purpose in place of LPG ( Natural gas). However,
gas stoves of burning H2 gas requires certain modifications. Since the
heating value of hydrogen is less than LPG. The burner gas stove sizes
need to be changed.
2. Industrial Applications:
H2 gas can be used in industries both as a fuel and reducing agent,
It can be used as a same of heat for heating and melting in place of natural
or other gases in furnaces.
3. Electric power generation :
Hydrogen is a major sources used for the electric power generation and used
at the utility end user.

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4. Aerospace Applications:
The most common application of liquid hydrogen as a fuel is in
rocket engine , which gives the advantages of low weight high
combustion efficiencies.

5. Vehicle applications :
H2 gas can be used to run IC engine based vehicle in place of
petroleum products.

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THANK YOU

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