Rocket Ship Hydrogen Generator

instructables

Rocket Ship Hydrogen Generator

by LabRatMatt

Of all the elements in the periodic table, Hydrogenhas to be one of my favorite. It's abundant, lighterthan air (the lightest element, actually), and best ofall: it's highly flammable.

Hydrogen is a diatomic gas that burns rapidly in thepresence of oxygen. When most things burn, theyrelease carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that canhave negative impacts on the environment, airquality, etc. But when Hydrogen burns, it producesnothing other than water vapor, making it an idealclean source of energy.

This particular project does not produce purehydrogen gas. Rather, it produces a mixture ofhydrogen and oxygen often referred to as HHO. Thismixture is extremely volatile, which makes it afantastic fuel, but also very dangerous.

Electrolysis is the process of splitting big moleculesinto their individual elements by applying energy. Inthis way, we are putting electrical energy into theH2O molecules to split them into H2 and O2 or HHO.When these are ignited, they release that energy inthe form of heat and kinetic energy from thecombustion. It makes a nice loop, but just rememberthat we will never get more energy out of thecombustion than we put in as electricity, the energyjust takes a different form.

Rather than just construct this in a boring old PVCtube, I decided to paint it and add wooden retro sci-fistyle fins with a nice dark stain. I'm not a terriblyartistic person, but I've seen many variations of thisproject already, I had to make mine unique.

Rocket Ship Hydrogen Generator: Page 1

1. a heavily edited picture

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Step 1: Supplies, Materials, and Tools

I'll divide this project into two main parts: the electrolysis cylinder and the wooden base.

To build the electrolysis cylinder, we'll need:

a length of 2 in. diameter PVC pipea corresponding 2 in. end capa female threaded connector and corresponding threaded end capa 1/8th in. hose barba length of 1/4 in. or 1/8 in. diameter vinyl tubing3-5 stainless steel plates (I salvaged mine from scrap)nylon washers (any size, no more than 1/4 in. thick)copper wire and aligator clipsa 12 volt battery or power supply

For the fuel:

distilled water (1 gallon should be plenty)baking soda (DO NOT USE SALT)

To make the rocket ship base:

a few pieces of wood no more than 1/4 in. thickwood stain, to make it look prettypatiencecreativity

Tools:

PVC gluehot gluethread tape or other thread sealhacksawtime (a weekend at most)good judgement (HHO is super dangerous and very explosive)safety glasses

Before we begin, take a minute and research HHO gas.

Let's get building!


1. end cap2. hose barb3. threaded end cap4. threaded adaptor5. steel plates6. PVC pipe, 2 in. diameter

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Step 2: Electrolysis!

In this step I'm going to explain the process ofelectrolysis as well as everything you'll need to startproducing hydrogen.

Let's start with the science:

Water is made up of two atoms of hydrogen bondedcovalently to one atom of oxygen. The bondsbetween these atoms form as a result of combustion.To extract hydrogen and oxygen gas, we'll need tobreak these bonds with some form of energy. In thiscase, we'll be using electrical energy from a 12 voltpower supply.

When these bonds break, the resulting atoms have aslight electrical charge. The hydrogen will be drawntowards the negative terminal and the oxygen will bedrawn to the positive. (For best results, use DCcurrent)

We can test the concept of electrolysis by connectingtwo bits of stainless steel to each terminal of a batteryand placing them in a container of water. When anelectrolyte such as salt or baking soda is added to thewater, bubbles should form on each steel electrode.We'll use a more refined electrolyte solution for thefinal generator.

Now that we know what's going on, how do we applythat to our hydrogen generator?

Great question. It means we can create a moreefficient design using less materials. If you've done

extra research, you might have noticed that otherhydrogen generators have dozens of steel plates.This one only has three and one of them isn't evenconnected to anything. Why?

I used only three to keep things simple. And only theoutside plates are charged because that's the mostefficient arrangement. What many people don'tunderstand is that there is a limit to the efficiency ofelectrolysis. Any voltage exceeding 4 volts betweeneach of the two gaps is wasted as heat. UsingKirchhoff's Voltage Law we can calculate, with basicarithmetic, that twelve volts across two gaps meanssix volts for each gap, two more than necessary witha total of four volts of wasted energy. Having anarrangement of dozens of plates with each plateelectrified, as most other Instructables might show, iseven more wasteful, with roughly 80% of the energybeing wasted as heat.

The trick to a more efficient system? Neutral plates.Neutral plates increase the surface area and dividelarger plate gaps into many smaller gaps. If thisgenerator had two neutral plates instead of just one inbetween the charged plates, it would be much moreefficient.

Technically speaking, this design is referred to as a"wet cell," which is much less efficient than a "drycell" design. But dry cell designs are much morecomplicated so we'll be sticking with this setup fornow.


1. Oxygen will collect here2. Hydrogen will accumulate here

1. The main electrolysis cylinder, made of PVC and painted a nicemetallic color2. 12 volt battery3. gas escapes out the hose and into the water bottle, making bubbles

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Step 3: Build the Electrolysis Cylinder

Now that you know how this thing works, it's time tostart building.

We'll start by cutting the length of 2 in. diameter PVCpipe to about 9 in. This will give us plenty of room forthe steel plates. Test fit the PVC end cap, threadedadapter, and threaded end cap before we go anyfurther.

Next we'll start preparing the steel plates. I had to cuteach plate from a larger piece of scrap metal. Makesure each piece fits with a little room to spare on eachside. Ideally, the two end pieces will be about 1.5 in.wide while the center plate is just shy of 2 in. All willbe at least 5 in. in length. When each plate is cut, usea coarse grit sandpaper to roughen them up. Thisincreases the surface area (making a more efficientreaction) as well as allowing the adhesive to stick tothe steel. When each plate has been thoroughlysanded (front and back), drill a small hole near the topof each end piece where the copper wire will attach tothe plate. Go ahead and attach wires to these twoplates. Each wire should be at least 6 in. long with atleast 1 in. of exposed wire to thread through eachhole. Solder will not stick well to stainless steel, sowrap each wire tightly to make a good connection.

We'll need to put some space between each plate toprevent short circuits. To do this, I used some smallnylon washers. Hot glue, though probably not theideal adhesive, works just fine for attaching eachnylon washer to the steel plate. Word of wisdom: donot attempt to use wooden spacers (as shown in thevideo). Using wooden spacers was a mistake.

When you've assembled a sort of multi-layeredsandwich, be sure that not of the plates are touching.If so, they will cause short circuits and many otherheadaches! Re-glue them or bend them into a safeposition. Test fit the plate assembly in the PVC pipe

before you continue building.

Next we'll drill three holes in the top of the threadedend cap. The first hole will be for the hose barb. Drilla 1/2 in. hole in the center of the end cap. The twoother holes will be for the wires attached to the steelplates. Drill two small holes (close to the diameter ofthe wire) on opposite sides of the threaded end cap.

If you plan on spray-painting the PVC components ofthe electrolysis cylinder, do it now. I used a nicemetallic paint to make it look more sophisticated.

--- take a break to allow the paint to dry ---

When the paint is dry, we are ready to finish this part.We'll begin to finish this project by threading the twowires from the steel plates through the two smallholes in the threaded end cap. allow at least twoinches of wire to suspend the plates on the lowerside, and roughly four inches on the upper side. Usehot glue to anchor the wires in place and seal anygaps. Remember that this thing must be airtight sothat no hydrogen escapes out the sides.

Then screw the hose barb into the large center holeat the top of the threaded end cap. This also must notleak around the edges. Use thread tape, hot glue, orany other sealant to ensure nothing leaks.

Lastly, use PVC cement to glue the thing together.You may need to sand off a little paint at each end ofthe main PVC tube and on the inner edges of the endcaps. Apply primer to each segment, then glue. Twistthe pipes to make sure that they bind completely anddo not leak. Everybody hates unwanted leaks.

Give the cement a few minutes to set and cure. Thensit back and admire your work so far.

https://youtu.be/lmo6T94lcGM


1. hose barb2. wires3. threaded end cap

1. painted and glued, almost complete

1. bits of scrap metal. Sand these with coarse sandpaper 1. a steel plate sandwich

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Step 4: Build the Rocket Base

Here's where a little creativity comes in to play.

When I completed the electrolysis cylinder, I thought Iwas done. I tested it (it worked great) and I couldn'twait to make some videos and put it on Instructables.But as I thought about it more and more, my mindwent to work and began dreaming up visions ofrockets powered by hydrogen fuel. Though I don'thave the expertise to build a functional hydrogen-fueled rocket, there's nothing stopping me from givingmy hydrogen generator a retro space-age look.

I cut some wooden scraps into a few basic geometricshapes, then arranged them until I found a finconfiguration I liked. I then cut a larger version out ofsome nicer wood scraps and glued it together into arotationally-symmetric configuration. A compass orprotractor might be necessary to get this part right.

I won't give you specific directions for this step. Ifyou'd like to see how I did it, watch the video. I wouldmuch prefer if you get creative.

https://youtu.be/i1DTdv9gj_c



Step 5: Making Fuel

Here's the easy part.

After trying a few different mixtures with some spectacular failures, I have finally found one that works.

Many similar instructables will tell you to use a salt water solution. DO NOT USE A SALT WATER SOLUTION!Salt (NaCl) will become NaOH and Chlorine gas (which is super duper toxic, like chemical weapons toxic).

Don't use tap water either. To my shock and surprise, there are many many many different chemicals dissolved intap water that become un-dissolved when electricity hits them. This yielded a disgusting green-brown gelatinousmass after a few minutes. It also took some time to completely clean the inside of the electrolysis cylinder.

The easy and ideal solution is a mixture of distilled water and completely dissolved baking soda. For best results,heat about half a liter of distilled water in the microwave and add a tablespoon of baking soda. Make sure itdissolves completely and add a little more distilled water if necessary. When the final solution is completely clear,it is ready to be put inside the electrolysis cylinder. Go ahead and pour it in, make sure it doesn't overflow or comein contact with the copper wires, as copper will react with oxygen ions and form more nasty green stuff.

Now for the really fun part. But first, a quick warning:

HYDROGEN IS DANGEROUS

You are responsible for your actions. If you do something stupid with this device, it is your fault notmine.Keep the electrolysis cylinder away from the location in which you plan on igniting any hydrogen.use a water bottle as a bubbler to prevent flashbackdo not attempt to light the top of the apparatus, as you risk an explosion. nobody likes unwantedexplosionsuse common sensethis is not a toy and should not be treated as such

Great, now that we've covered that we can get on to the fun stuff.

I used a cup of soapy water to trap hydrogen gas in soap bubbles, as seen in the Part 2 video earlier. Alwaysremove the vinyl hose from the bubbles before lighting any of them on fire. Also, wear eye protection. And earprotection, if you're popping large bubbles with fire. And never ignite hydrogen indoors unless you know whatyou're doing.


Step 6: Going Further

This project is not complete, and it might never be complete. But at it's current stage it is not capable of fueling anHHO torch, as the output simply isn't high enough. To build an HHO torch, we would need to build a second ormaybe even third electrolysis cylinder, as well as some additional flashback protection.

I also plan on building a small, hydrogen-powered rocket launcher that would fire small lightweight rockets into theair. Nothing too sophisticated, but fun nontheless.

For more interesting projects and a few upcoming hydrogen videos, visit my youtube channel and considersubscribing.

Let me know what you thought of this project and leave suggestions for future projects in the comments below.

See also:

http://www.hhoforums.com/http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/thermo/electrol.htmlhttps://energy.gov/eere/fuelcells/hydrogen-production-electrolysis


Rocket Ship Hydrogen Generator

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