A novel method for generating hydrogen by hydrolysis of highly activated aluminum nanoparticles in pure water

Abstract

A simple method with 100% efficiency for generating pure hydrogen in large scale by hydrolysis of highly activated aluminum in water was established. In this activation method, Aluminum is milled using salt particles (as nano-miller) with different salt to aluminum mole ratios. Due to their brittle nature, salt particles are fractured during milling and their sharp edges chop aluminum particles into pieces. This leads to an increment in hydrolysis kinetics. Meantime, salt particles are driven into newly created surfaces of aluminum particles, producing salt gates that will be removed in water environment, causing hydrogen generation reaction to proceed. The other product of reaction is aluminum oxide hydroxide (AlOOH) which is nature-friendly and can be easily separated from water. The highest average rate of hydrogen generation was 75 ml/min per 1 g of aluminum. © 2009 Professor T. Nejat Veziroglu.