Hydrogen gas is the perfect green fuel—it can be extracted from water and is non-polluting. But although hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, it doesn’t naturally occur in large quantities as a gas on Earth. Current discussions on water electrolysis include mainly two different methods – alkaline water electrolysis and PEM water electrolysis. While the former…
In order to predict the products of electrolysis, we first need to understand what electrolysis is and how it works. Electrolysis is a method of separating bonded elements and compounds by passing an electric current through them. It uses a direct electric current (DC) to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction. Electrolysis is very important commercially as a stage…
Electrolysis is a process by which electrical energy is used to produce a chemical change. Perhaps the most familiar example of electrolysis is the decomposition (breakdown) of water into hydrogen and oxygen by means of an electric current. The same process can be used to decompose compounds other than water. Sodium, chlorine, magnesium, and aluminum are four elements produced…
Electrolysis is the process by which an electric current is passed through a substance to affect a chemical change. The chemical change occurs when the substance loses electrons (oxidation) or gains them (reduction). In the two experiments listed below, the first reactive substance is water and the second one is a copper sulfate solution. Electrolysis is used to remove…
Hydrogen has the highest level of energy by mass of any fuel, but as the lightest element it is also, in its natural state, extremely low in energy by volume. It is therefore necessary to store hydrogen at a high density in order to make it viable as a fuel for transport and other applications. Hydrogen is an energy…
