Hydrogen Gas Production Using Aluminum Waste Cans Powder Produced by Disintegration Method

Abstract

Fossil fuels dependencies need to be stopped to safeguard the earth from further damage. This study focuses on the production of hydrogen (H2) gas using waste aluminum (Al) cans. Al waste cans were fed into disintegrator to produce fine powder. The hydrolysis performance of disintegrated powdered Al cans were compared with the commercial Al powder. The effect of different reaction temperatures (25 - 100°C); type of alkalis (NaOH, KOH and Ba (OH)2); and type of water sources (tap, deionized, ultrapure and distilled) for the hydrolysis process were analyzed. The Al powders were also characterized using different techniques to understand its behavior. It was found that powdered Al waste cans produced more H2 compared to commercial Al reported in the literature. The higher the reaction temperature, the higher the rate of H2 production. Deionized water maximizes the production of H2 compared to other types of water. Ba (OH)2 was found to be an unproductive alkaline for H2 production using powdered Al waste cans. The successful hydrolysis of powdered Al waste can in alkaline condition in this research has demonstrated as a cost-effective, clean and green alternative hydrogen production method.