How is Hydrogen produced?
To obtain hydrogen it is necessary to extract (or separate) it from other substances using energy. There are many different ways to do this but the cleanest way (with present technology) is to pass electrical energy through water (H20) in a device called an electrolyser.
An electrolyser uses an electric current to split hydrogen (H2) away from the oxygen (O2) atom, thereby creating two gases which can be stored for a variety of uses.
In this electrolysis experiment, electricity enters the water at the cathode and leaves at the anode.
Hydro Tasmania has provided the University of Tasmania with an electrolyser to make hydrogen for its research work!
Hydrogen can also be obtained from fossil fuels - but in the process of extracting Hydrogen from these substances, some waste greenhouse gases and other pollutants are created.
Generating Hydrogen from fossil fuels is not without merit however. It will form an important transitional technology in reaching a clean renewable hydrogen economy.
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