Would it be possible to separate the atoms in water so you have oxygen and Hydrogen?

Question

If this could be done could it be used as a fuel for automobiles today?
Would cost to do this be to much to make it worth while?

Would everyone please look at this site and see what you think one answer gave it to me.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel_cell

I already know about this just wander what you all think! let me know lol it is very interesting is it not?

could all of us together convert a normal gas engine to use this someway? sound like a plan does it not lol?

Answer 1

yes its possible. yes a few people have already done it.

it takes 24 volts DC (2 car batteries) passed across a pair of platinum electrodes within a vessel of deionized water. you must exclude all air from the vessel prior to starting the process. also there must be a divider within the vessel so that when the hydrogen and oxygen separate (one gas type bubbles up from each electrode)

now you can compress the hydrogen and use it as fuel. (it takes 5 psi to run in a standard carberated engine)

OR

you can store hydrogen in beryllium as it absorbs H2 readily at high pressures and releases H2 at low pressures for use with a fuel cell and because it is trapped in a block of metal no O2 can get to it to cause it to burn in storage.

now here is the problem with using this as a wide spread fuel.
it takes more energy to create it than it puts out. unless you want to build a big solar array to convert a little water, it just doesn't fly.

now some people are working with collecting H2 emissions from some varieties of algae. now that looks promising.

Answer 2

The process is usable, but it is much simpler (and more cost effective) to combine hydrogen and oxygen into water. Hydrogen engines have been around for a long while.
The problem with your idea is that electrolysis involves creating a lot of waste heat. Burning hydrogen in an engine releases heat.
But hydrogen is a volatile gas, and we do not have the infrastructure to transfer large quantities of explosive gas as a fuel.
We do presently have the technology to transfer liquid fuels in bulk. So until there are quick-charge batteries with sufficient range to be as practical (say 150-200 miles on a charge, recharge in 5-10 minutes) as current technologies, I think we are more likely to see most of the effort put into bio-diesel, ethanol and other renewable and currently practical fuels.

Answer 3

No one makes money with that.

Auto mfrs and gas companies would loose out big time. There's no money to be made from water so it will never go into effect.

Also I believe I read about it being highly combustable (or maybe I'm thinking of something else).

However if you are really concerned about saving cash (and the environment), you can always convert your engine to accept grease from fast food joint. You can do this at home...

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Technology/story?id=1151759&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Corporate America doesn't care about the environment they care about p & l. ($$$)

"Cost

One of the most basic problems with the development of fuel cell technologies is the prohibitively high cost of fuel cells themselves. Although there are several examples of working prototypes of hydrogen automobiles, none of them can be produced at a low enough cost to be affordable to the general public. Many of the components of fuel cells have to be handmade, and some way of machine producing these components will be necessary before any effort at cheaper mass-production of fuel cells can be attempted. An additional problem with costs is the use of platinum in fuel cells. Platinum is used as a catalyst to the energy producing reaction in fuel cells, and some substitute needs to be found before fuel cells can be commercially viable (Peter, 2003). The cost of the hydrogen fuel itself varies depending on how it is produced. As a basic method of comparison, the cheaper the cost of electricity production, the cheaper the cost of hydrogen fuel from a specific source. To give a number figure, the hydrogen equivalent of a gallon of gasoline costs $2.60 if it is produced with wind energy, one of the more environmentally friendly methods of hydrogen production (Stavy, 2003). " Quoted from http://www.competitivet.us/overview/hydrogen.htm

Answer 4

Water molecules can be separated through a process called electrolysis. By passing electricty through a water molecule, the bond between the Oxygen and Hydrogen can be broken. Since this process requires more energy than it produces, it is not very efficient.

Answer 5

it already has been done thru electrolosys. that is the process where electricity is passed thru water int 2 different ares of the same water the hydrogen will collect at the neg electrode and oxy will collect at the pos electrode a working engine with this tech was built by a MIT student

Answer 6

Yes by using Pt electrodes and passing an electric current of a set voltage you can collect oxygen and hydrogen at the catodes/anodes.

Answer 7

yes
it is a good question which even i have in mind
i have searched a lot.
if u are aware liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are togather used as a type of rocket propellant.
that means it is possibble.
but for common use it is very costly, and these liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are too dangerous to handle.
u know what hydrogen bomb is, it is a bomb that uses explosive power of hydrogen.
here is a link where u can learn to make a very crude hydrogen bom at home:
http://www.sci-toys.com/scitoys/scitoys/echem/echem.html#bomb

Answer 8

in high school we used a large beaker with 2 smaller test tubes fill the lerge beaker with water also the two test tubes you suspend the two test tubes upside down with the opening of the test tubes submerged in the water of the beaker and you use dc electric source you run the positive wire to one test tube and the nogeitve to the ither and the electricity will seperat the oxegen and hydrogen int to seperate test tubes not expensive but it takes a long time to seperate a large amount

Answer 9

It can be done through electrolysis, but to store Hydrogen or oxygen is not not a easy task as it gets mixed up with air , as soon as they broke up with electricity.

Answer 10

It is very interesting. Unforunately many patents for alternative sources of power are being bought and witheld by oil/motor companies in order to reduce potential competition. I think the first company to nail something like that will do very nicely for themselves.