can i use AC current for electrolysis -- water + 120V is BAD!!!!!!!!

[dcstegg228]

Im thinking of just using my 120v house electricity... is it posible? or way to dangerous, because i would assume 120v of AC would produce hydrogen and oxygen faster than 12v 300ma of DC. also one time i mixed a lot... and i mean LOTS of salt in with the water,. and it made a smell kind of like chlorine gas, accept less smelly and not green, what may have happend?

[Anjruu]

Well, if you put NaCl in water, you probably got Cl2 and 02. Dunno what the green was, probably impurities in the water or a reaction with the metal you used for the electrodes.

[swansont]

Well, table salt is sodium chloride, so it probably was chlorine.

[dcstegg228]

Well, if you put NaCl in water, you probably got Cl2 and 02. Dunno what the green was, probably impurities in the water or a reaction with the metal you used for the electrodes.

 

 

i said it WASNT green, so the gas wasnt chlorine, and btw what kind of acid is in vinegar?

[JustStuit]

It may have been too diluted to appear green.

[dcstegg228]

It may have been too diluted to appear green.

 

 

okay, lets not try that again...

Besides i dont want the oxygen i want the hydrogen.

[Darkblade48]

i said it WASNT green, so the gas wasnt chlorine, and btw what kind of acid is in vinegar?

Vinegar is acetic acid (trivial name), also known as ethanoic acid (by the IUPAC naming system).

 

okay' date=' lets not try that again...

Besides i dont want the oxygen i want the hydrogen.[/quote']

If you want hydrogen, simple take some metal and put it into an acid, or alternatively, put some aluminum into a solution of sodium/potassium hydroxide.

 

In my opinion, it's safer than trying to perform electrolysis with 120 V of AC power....

[Anjruu]

"said it WASNT green, so the gas wasnt chlorine"

 

Isnt chorine gas colourless?

[ipsita14]

"said it WASNT green' date=' so the gas wasnt chlorine"

 

Isnt chorine gas colourless?[/quote']

 

No, chlorine is greenish in colour.

[Pleiades]

Chlorine gas is a pale green/yellow but it is usually too pale to notice the color, so it appears colorless.

 

When you electrolyze water with sodium chloride in it, it breaks down and releases chlorine gas; it also produces sodium hydroxide which dissolves in the water.

 

If you don’t want chlorine you have to use a neutral salt that doesn’t take break down under electrolysis, one example is sodium sulfate.

 

You should be using carbon electrodes, not just bare wire; you can get these by taking apart the large 6v lantern batteries, make sure the only thing touching the water is the carbon. Metal electrodes will slowly deteriorate if used for electrolysis.

 

Finally, hydrogen is produced at the cathode (negative electrode) and oxygen is produced at the anode (the positive electrode), if you use AC current the electrodes will switch back and forth from anode to cathode, 60 times per second in the US. What this means is that the gas released at each electrode will be an equal mix of hydrogen and oxygen, you probably want them separate. I should also mention that 120v household electricity from the plug socket has a pretty good chance of killing you, especially when an electrolyte (salty water) is involved.

 

I would not recommend you use 120v house electricity.

[ipsita14]

okay' date=' lets not try that again...

Besides i dont want the oxygen i want the hydrogen.[/quote']

 

If you want hydrogen, use zinc granules and add hydrochrolic acid (dil.) through the thistle funnel. Using zinc is better than all metals and it is the advised laboratory preparation of hydrogen.

[woelen]

A few points. Chlorine gas indeed is green and you do not need that much to see the green color. Here is a sample of 300 ml of almost pure chlorine gas (it contains a little amount of air and possibly some CO2, but at least 90% is chlorine gas):

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/compounds/chlorine.html

 

When you use 120 V AC, then you'll have the anode and cathode reversed with the frequency of the alternating current. At the cathode, H2 is formed. At the anode, the metal will go into solution, but at the very high potential of 120V at the peaks, certainly also quite some oxygen will be formed. The net effect of the alternating current will be dissolving of both electrodes, formation of hydrogen and formation of some oxygen. So, if you collect gases from the electrodes you'll obtain a mix of hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio, well below 2 : 1. But still, the amount of oxygen may be sufficient to make a highly explosive mixture. A mix of hydrogen and oxygen is REALLY dangerous. Igniting it will cause a violent explosion, not only if the gas is in a confined space! So, this is NOT a good way to make hydrogen gas.

 

You'll not obtain any chlorine when you use metal electrodes. So, it is perfectly understandable that you do not see any green color.

[dcstegg228]

A few points. Chlorine gas indeed is green and you do not need that much to see the green color. Here is a sample of 300 ml of almost pure chlorine gas (it contains a little amount of air and possibly some CO2' date=' but at least 90% is chlorine gas):

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/compounds/chlorine.html

 

When you use 120 V AC, then you'll have the anode and cathode reversed with the frequency of the alternating current. At the cathode, H2 is formed. At the anode, the metal will go into solution, but at the very high potential of 120V at the peaks, certainly also quite some oxygen will be formed. The net effect of the alternating current will be dissolving of both electrodes, formation of hydrogen and formation of some oxygen. So, if you collect gases from the electrodes you'll obtain a mix of hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio, well below 2 : 1. But still, the amount of oxygen may be sufficient to make a highly explosive mixture. A mix of hydrogen and oxygen is REALLY dangerous. Igniting it will cause a violent explosion, not only if the gas is in a confined space! So, this is NOT a good way to make hydrogen gas.

 

You'll not obtain any chlorine when you use metal electrodes. So, it is perfectly understandable that you do not see any green color.[/quote']

 

What if i used stainless steel.. would it still break down? and is that what 60hz means 60 timnes per second?

[insane_alien]

What if i used stainless steel.. would it still break down? and is that what 60hz means 60 timnes per second?

 

its a metal isnt it?(well alloy but its still made of metals) 60 Hz means 60 times a second.

[dcstegg228]

its a metal isnt it?(well alloy but its still made of metals) 60 Hz means 60 times a second.

 

I guess.. i just didnt think it would have that effect on it

[dcstegg228]

I will NEVER EVER DO SOMETHING THIS STUPID AGAIN!!

 

Whell me and my k3wl ass self decided to use 120 v 60 hz current for electrolosys like i was told wouldnt be safe... so anyways i was amazed at how much gas was being made! and then the electrodes tuched sparked under water and made an explosion of hydrogen oxygen and electricity spraying water and sparks everywhere. And as the cloud of smoke rose from the container i decided i was done... forever. oh and WOW that was scary

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Smoke? Shouldn't a combustion of hydrogen and oxygen just produce water vapor?

[dcstegg228]

Smoke? Shouldn't a combustion of hydrogen and oxygen just produce water vapor?

 

the smoke was from the electrodes falling apart and melting the plastic coating on them

[NeonBlack]

You know what this reminds me of?

 

Remember the kid who supposedly filled 8 garbage bags of Hydrogen/Oxygen mix in his basement and then shot a bottle rocket at them?

Even after he was warned that the mixture just sitting there could be unstable.

[dcstegg228]

You know what this reminds me of?

 

Remember the kid who supposedly filled 8 garbage bags of Hydrogen/Oxygen mix in his basement and then shot a bottle rocket at them?

Even after he was warned that the mixture just sitting there could be unstable.

That dosent sound true... but i am being serious

[jdurg]

A few points. Chlorine gas indeed is green and you do not need that much to see the green color. Here is a sample of 300 ml of almost pure chlorine gas (it contains a little amount of air and possibly some CO2' date=' but at least 90% is chlorine gas):

 

http://woelen.scheikunde.net/science/chem/compounds/chlorine.html

 

When you use 120 V AC, then you'll have the anode and cathode reversed with the frequency of the alternating current. At the cathode, H2 is formed. At the anode, the metal will go into solution, but at the very high potential of 120V at the peaks, certainly also quite some oxygen will be formed. The net effect of the alternating current will be dissolving of both electrodes, formation of hydrogen and formation of some oxygen. So, if you collect gases from the electrodes you'll obtain a mix of hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio, well below 2 : 1. But still, the amount of oxygen may be sufficient to make a highly explosive mixture. A mix of hydrogen and oxygen is REALLY dangerous. Igniting it will cause a violent explosion, not only if the gas is in a confined space! So, this is NOT a good way to make hydrogen gas.

 

You'll not obtain any chlorine when you use metal electrodes. So, it is perfectly understandable that you do not see any green color.[/quote']

 

Well the 300 mL is a pretty good amount, and the flask you have it stored in there forces you to look through a great deal of the Cl2 which enhances the green color. If you are doing an electrolysis, the dilution of the Cl2 and the small amount that is typically produced makes it very difficult to see. (When I was ampouling the chlorine gas I have in my collection, it was really weird because when looking through the small 0.5" internal diameter ampoule you could barely see the green color. However if you then turn the ampoule on its side and look through the long end of it, which is about 4.5" long, the color cleary stands out).

[woelen]

I must admit, that I did a similar experiment 25 years ago in my young and kewlish years. I used 220 V AC for electrolysing a not too concentrated solution of NaCl in water with copper wires. It worked quite well, until the two wires touched under water. A big flash, a big explosion and water sprayed around and the glass jar ruptured. Also, the fuses were burnt . Since then, I'm much more careful, when doing experiments.

 

dcstegg228, I did not realize that you really intended to do the experiment. Otherwise I would have warned you even more about this. Fortunately no really serious things happened. This is a good learrning moment for the future .

[latentheat]

I will NEVER EVER DO SOMETHING THIS STUPID AGAIN!!

 

Whell me and my k3wl ass self decided to use 120 v 60 hz current for electrolosys like i was told wouldnt be safe... so anyways i was amazed at how much gas was being made! and then the electrodes tuched sparked under water and made an explosion of hydrogen oxygen and electricity spraying water and sparks everywhere. And as the cloud of smoke rose from the container i decided i was done... forever. oh and WOW that was scary

 

I had something similar happen to me when I stupidly used 120 V AC on a sodium chloride solution.

 

I was using two carbon rods as electrodes.

 

The instant I turned it on, there was arcing like crazy in the beaker and steam pouring out of the beaker. The solution was boiling from the heat created.

 

I unplugged it as quickly as I could. The room smelled horribly of ozone for awhile.