Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Separation of oxygen and hydrogen

I am doing a science project on how to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen. for this, I have to have six trials, but I have no idea on how to make the trials. I also have no idea of where to get the supplies from, so, if anyone out there could provide me with some advice , it would be greatly appreciated! oh, and I also need company names to write to for help on my project, also! I am in the eighth grade and 13 years old.

DeNaye D [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
- Detroit, Michigan, United States of America
2005

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2005 Hi D, Not sure what you mean by 6 trials. A common school method of breaking water into H2 and O2 is electrolysis. H2 comes off at the cathode (negative ) pole and O2 comes of at the anode (positive) pole. Unfortunately, chlorine will also come off of the anode from chlorine ions in the system. The water needs to be conductive. Believe it or not, pure water is not a good conductor. Look up A. G. Bell's breakthrough on the telephone. He added sulfuric acid to the water. You could check the amount of time it took to collect a tube of each gas for distilled water (no ozone) (boil it and cool it in a sealed full container as it will pick up CO2 from the air. Then try tap water, water with a spoonful of salt, a saturated salt solution, a tablespoon of vinegar [in bulk on eBay or Amazon] could be added for another jar. Lemon juice might be used. You could get wild and try a aspirin solution. Make up your solutions with the boiled distilled water, so you do not add the variable of the different makeup water salts and CO2. At your age, I would stay away from pool acid and battery acid [affil links] unless you had the help of a chemist or teacher that is qualified. James Watts - Navarre, Florida If you do some research, and tell us what you find out, then maybe we can help. From your post, you haven't done ANY research, or, for that matter, asked your teacher! James Totter, CEF - Tallahassee, Florida

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u should do the electrolysis by using some simple battery and collect the gas, not use NaCl bcz it will release chlorine gas, use sodium sulphate or potassium sulphate for it you will be succeed. inshaallah
tell me your response

husnain [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]
student - Pakistan
June 30, 2008

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D,

If you haven't already found your information, do a search for hydrogen generators. Also look up Brown's gas (HHO). These two subjects will get you lots of info. One generator that is way too much for what you need is the Tero Cell generator. But look it up for ideas on how one is made.

You can build a simple generator using two small metal plates spaced about 1/8 inch apart. Connect your battery supply with plus to one plate and negative to the other.

You can use a simple DC motor speed controller to limit the amount of current your generator will draw from the battery.

Use a small amount of Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda [on eBay or Amazon] , NaCOH), in the water for the electrolyte.

Good luck with your experiment and have fun.

Chuck Carpenter
Retired Tech Writer/Hi Tech Industries - Point, Texas
August 25, 2008

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Regarding about how to separate hydrogen and oxygen in water, we can use electrolysis to do that.
But there is other way to separate between hydrogen and oxygen such as gamma ray.
Now my problems are: first, how to produce gamma rays? and the second, do you have other ways that you can do the same by using some energy or simple way which is free and simple?
If you have some idea about that.
Please let me know, I really need your help.
Thanks.

Oeland Tesla
student - Indonesia
June 8, 2009

can you please suggest me, how to separate hydrogen from water at lower cost so that gas should be ignited.

Joshua F
student - Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
October 21, 2010

Take a little water in air tight piston cylinder arrangement and decrease its pressure and heat it at normal pressure water get separated into H2 and O at 800° C if we decrease the pressure by my method it may be possible that we may separate hydrogen from water. The theory I explained above is totally theoretical and I developed it myself. I don't know the results if you have the power to do this experiment then do it and advise the results.

Sandesh Kambale
- Sangali Maharashtra , India
September 17, 2011

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October 7, 2011

Can any one tell me the molecular structure of water in the vapour state??

Achyuth s.k
Engineering student - India

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Q. As Mr. Kambale said earlier in his post, what are the possibilities of separation of the Hydrogen & Oxygen from the water under low pressure and considerable high temperature!

Supriya Patil
- Sangli
April 24, 2012

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