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How a Hydrogen Generator Works

Hydrogen, Water for Fuel

Caution: Do not attempt to extract hydrogen from water unless you know exactly what you are doing. Hydrogen is a very explosive gas and can cause burns or serious injury if it is not handled properly.

Did you know that we are surrounded by energy that can be used for just about any purpose? A lot of people think that energy is expensive and hard to manufacture but in reality it is all around us. People are swimming in usable energy every day without even knowing about it.

A hydrogen generator is a simple system that is used to extract hydrogen and oxygen from water (H20). The process that a hydrogen generator uses to produce hydrogen and oxygen from water is called electrolysis. When you pass a current at a certain frequency through water the molecular bond between the oxygen and the hydrogen breaks down and both the hydrogen and oxygen molecules separate and will rise to the top of the water level and be released. You can release these components into the air or into a containment system. Some practitioners of this method call the gas that is released “Hydroxy” or “Browns’ Gas.”

All that you need to perform this simple process are two stainless steel plates that are spaced about 1-3 mm apart and a small amount of electrical current. Place the plates in a small glass container and fill the container with distilled water until it covers the plates. Make absolutely sure that the steel plates are not touching each other or the system will short out and fail. Connect two small wires to the plates, one for the positive side and one for the negative side. Direct current (DC) from a battery is recommended for the brute force technique but if you want to make your system very efficient then you can implement a frequency modulator between the power source (battery) and the anode and cathode (steel plates) of the system.

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Once you apply a small current to the system small bubbles will appear and rise to the top of the container. The water is not boiling, what you are observing is the process of the oxygen and the hydrogen being released from the water compound. Passing the electrical current through the water via the steel plates breaks the molecular bond between the oxygen and the hydrogen. This experiment is on a small scale for safety reasons but if you really want to produce a lot of hydroxy gas to run an engine or power a fuel cell array you can make a very efficient version of this system like this one.

Once you produce hydrogen it is a good idea to use it immediately. Storing hydrogen takes a lot of energy and this can defeat the purpose of creating it as a cheap fuel source so a lot of developers make “on demand” systems that are safe alternatives to storing the fuel once it is produced.

Hydrogen can be used to fuel several different types of engines, electrical generators or can be used to fuel a hydrogen fuel cell. In any case, hydrogen does not produce any harmful by products regardless of implementation. You breathe hydrogen every day and it is found in many compounds in nature, although it does not occur naturally. In order to use hydrogen you must extract it from a compound that contains hydrogen such as water or hydrogen peroxide.

Hydrogen is the most abundant substance in the universe and is virtually endless in supply. Once you use hydrogen it either recombines with oxygen to form water or with other elements to form complex compounds found everywhere in the universe. Hydrogen is the best form of energy carrier available that does not cause pollution and is relatively safe for the general public to use as a renewable energy source.