The world society is facing the threats of global energy and environmental crises. A significant decrease in natural resources, including various types of fuel, and the aggravation of environmental issues have led to the need to find alternative energy sources, one of which is hydrogen. Therefore, a large number of researchers are currently working on creating new or improving existing methods for the production of hydrogen gas. There are many developments in this area, but there is still no sufficiently efficient hydrogen production technology.
It is a well-known technology to produce hydrogen through the interaction of aluminum or its alloys with water, but this reaction quickly fades away due to the formation of an oxide film on the aluminum surface. Therefore, to maintain the high efficiency of the technology, it was proposed to carry out this reaction under ultrasonic cavitation.
The use of ultrasonic cavitation in the chemical process of water-aluminum interaction ensures, due to ultrasonic erosion, the permanent destruction of the oxide film on the aluminum surface, which allows for maximum efficiency and stability of the chemical reaction of hydrogen removal and aluminum hydroxide production. In the cavitation environment, aluminum particles are further dispersed into smaller ones, which leads to an additional increase in the contact surface of water and pure aluminum. As a result, it is possible to almost fully utilize the capabilities of pure aluminum in the chemical reaction of hydrogen production from water. The use of ultrasonic atomization in a thin layer device makes it possible to obtain monodispersed aluminum powder with the required dimensions, according to calculations.
The proposed technology allows not only to produce hydrogen in a way that is safe for humans and the environment, but also to eliminate one of the many causes of environmental pollution associated with the disposal of household and industrial waste.
