Electrolysis problems

[Tswienton]

   Please forgive me if this is under the wrong branch of science but I considered it to Be electrochemistry.  I have been trying to build a hydrogen converter to get oxyhydrogen gas.  

     I built my converter but had some problems, here was my setup: I used a plastic bottle, and drilled to holes in the side.  In each of these holes a placed a stainless steel screw.  I took 8 rechargeable AA batteries for my power supply.  They are all rated for 1.5 volts but using my multimeter they were only 1.3( doesn’t matter too much to me). I put them in series and checked to see that they were 10 volts, which it thought would be good enough for splitting water.  I used alligator clips to connect the positive and negative ends and I didn’t see anything happening.  The water had baking powder in it, which has baking soda in it, which should conduct electricity.  I tried putting a single 9 volt in and saw a bit of small bubbles forming.  I was thinking that maybe there was not enough amps but I used my multimeter and it seas something like 10 amps.  I also used my multimeter on either side of the circuit and it didn’t show any current so I was thinking maybe the gap between th electrodes was too far.  But the i just put the alligator clips in a and still nothing happened.  I have seen people on YouTube run these things off of 12 v car batteries and I’m only two volts away.  I only have a basic knowledge of electricity and how amps and volts work and all that, so I don’t understand it very well, and was just wondering if anybody could help me out, Thanks!

Edited June 2, 2019 by Tswienton

[chenbeier]

How do you could measure 10 amps? Only some Milliampere is enough to split water. The voltage is also high enough. It looks like you have somewhere a interuption of the circuit.

[Strange]

3 hours ago, Tswienton said:

I was thinking that maybe there was not enough amps but I used my multimeter and it seas something like 10 amps.  

10 amps at 10 volts? That's 100W; something should be getting very hot. 

3 hours ago, Tswienton said:

The water had baking powder in it, which has baking soda in it

Not sure it is relevant, but that will react in water to produce CO2 gas (and leave sodium tartrate dissolved in the water).

[Sensei]

23 minutes ago, Strange said:

Not sure it is relevant, but that will react in water to produce CO2 gas (and leave sodium tartrate dissolved in the water).

NaHCO₃ -> NaOH + CO₂

 

[Strange]

30 minutes ago, Sensei said:

NaHCO₃ -> NaOH + CO₂

Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid

[Sensei]

13 minutes ago, Strange said:

Baking powder is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid

You're simplifying it. Not "it is", but "it can be".. depending on manufacturer of specific powder.

 

In "Original preparations" section of

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder

only 2 out of 7 prescriptions have cream of tartar as ingredient mentioned. The all rest some other acid.

i.e. Dr. Oetker's Baking Powder has mentioned phosphatic.

 

If powder used to be made of cream of tartar i.e. KC₄H₅O₆

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_bitartrate

after release of CO₂ by NaHCO₃, it will still contain KC₄H₅O₆

unless KC₄H₅O₆ also will decompose due to electrolysis (f.e. too high voltage), or react other way.

[Strange]

3 minutes ago, Sensei said:

You're simplifying it. Not "it is", but "it can be".. depending on manufacturer of specific powder.

Interesting. I didn't know there was so much variability.

[John Cuthber]

4 hours ago, Sensei said:

NaHCO₃ -> NaOH + CO₂

 

WTF?

2 hours ago, Sensei said:

after release of CO₂ by NaHCO₃, it will still contain KC₄H₅O₆

Bicarbonate of soda reacts with potassium bitartrate to produce potassium sodium tartrate (known as Rochelle salt) carbon dioxide and water.

 

[Sensei]

11 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

Bicarbonate of soda reacts with potassium bitartrate to produce potassium sodium tartrate (known as Rochelle salt) carbon dioxide and water. 

...you're missing the one important thing.. "if there are uniformly mixed" (which is, more or less, the case if you're baking cake)... But OP is dissolving it in water.. check potassium bitartrate solubility in water (0.57 g/100 mL @ 20 °C). Sodium bicarbonate solubility in water is 96 g/L @ 20 °C..

Don't just take equation from the book (or Wikipedia), without rethinking environment, in which compounds will react..

 

 

31 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

4 hours ago, Sensei said:

NaHCO₃ -> NaOH + CO₂

WTF? 

Okay.

2 NaHCO₃ → Na₂CO₃ + H₂O + CO₂

 

[John Cuthber]

It is true that the solubility of potassium tartrate in water is quite low.

It is also, of course, irrelevant.

The environment in which it is present is a solution of bicarbonate of soda, in which it is much more soluble- because it reacts.
You should read your own "advice"

 

24 minutes ago, Sensei said:

...without rethinking environment, in which compounds will react..

Your perspective is absurd anyway.

If the tartar didn't react, what would be the point of putting it there?
Of course it reacts.

27 minutes ago, Sensei said:

check potassium bitartrate solubility in water (0.57 g/100 mL @ 20 °C).

It makes rather more sense to check something we don't actually know.

How much did the OP use.

If it's a teaspoonful of baking powder in a litre of water then there's enough water to dissolve it anyway.