Effect of Pre-Treatment of Waste Aluminium for the Production of Catalytic Hydrogen using Alkali Solutions

Abstract

Hydrogen gas with a high level of purity is essential for use in hydrogen and oxygen fuel cells to generate electricity. However, producing high-purity hydrogen can be challenging. Among the various methods for hydrogen production from metal waste, aluminum is a popular choice due to its ability to react with water in the presence of an alkali to produce hydrogen without emitting greenhouse gases. Numerous attempts have been made to produce hydrogen through the aluminum-water reaction using sodium hydroxide, with variations in concentration levels. Waste aluminum cans and foils were utilized to generate hydrogen by reacting them with aqueous sodium hydroxide. The rate of hydrogen production was initially slow due to the thin layer of plastic coating on the aluminum cans. To address this, an organic solvent treatment was used to remove the plastic layer from aluminum cans before reacting them with alkali. The rate of hydrogen production was then measured and compared with that from untreated aluminum cans and aluminum foils. A multivariable regression analysis is used to forecast the relationship between the variables assessed and found rate constant representing a function of the mass of aluminium and the alkali concentration.