What quality of water is best for electrolyzing into Hydrogen and Oxygen? Tap water? Distilled? De-ionized?
Just wondering what would be the major downfall to using tap water, rain water, or for that matter, swamp water? I'm thinking about getting into a deeper study of hydrogen to be used in a fuel cell or perhaps some other form of potential energy. Also I'd appreciate being pointed to a website or newsgroup dealing with alternate energy production. Searches work but there's such a thing as working too well. I'm having a devil of a time looking for the few needles in that haystack.So far I've got a broad spectrum of answers from virginal purity to stagnant! I do remember from my chemistry that an electrolyte needed to be added and therefore it would seem to me that de-ionized water would be counter-productive... Not stirring anything up; just continuing discussion. Hydrogen isn't a GREAT source of energy but if I had an electric vehicle charging the batteries with solar would take too long while using the solar cells but hydrogen generation could store the solar cell's excess energy when it wasn't doing anything else. Then use the hydrogen to generate electricity via fuel cells. just thinking about refining efficiency.Actually, let me rephrase that and forget about getting oxygen. I remember now that the electrolytes are either released as gas or form hydroxyls, among other things. I suppose using NaCl as the electrolyte would eventually use all the free hydrogen and wind up molecular Clorine and NaOH. Been a few years since chemistry and the old bean has trouble finding the path again.
Just wondering what would be the major downfall to using tap water, rain water, or for that matter, swamp water? I'm thinking about getting into a deeper study of hydrogen to be used in a fuel cell or perhaps some other form of potential energy. Also I'd appreciate being pointed to a website or newsgroup dealing with alternate energy production. Searches work but there's such a thing as working too well. I'm having a devil of a time looking for the few needles in that haystack.So far I've got a broad spectrum of answers from virginal purity to stagnant! I do remember from my chemistry that an electrolyte needed to be added and therefore it would seem to me that de-ionized water would be counter-productive... Not stirring anything up; just continuing discussion. Hydrogen isn't a GREAT source of energy but if I had an electric vehicle charging the batteries with solar would take too long while using the solar cells but hydrogen generation could store the solar cell's excess energy when it wasn't doing anything else. Then use the hydrogen to generate electricity via fuel cells. just thinking about refining efficiency.Actually, let me rephrase that and forget about getting oxygen. I remember now that the electrolytes are either released as gas or form hydroxyls, among other things. I suppose using NaCl as the electrolyte would eventually use all the free hydrogen and wind up molecular Clorine and NaOH. Been a few years since chemistry and the old bean has trouble finding the path again.