An electrolyser developed by Chinese experts has been continuously tested for 31 days.
Beijing: Chinese experts have developed and successfully tested an advanced system for separating hydrogen and lithium from seawater.
Nanjing Tech University experts have developed an advanced electrolyzer that can separate hydrogen and lithium from salt water instead of fresh water. In the past, this task only required fresh water and a lot of energy.
According to a report published in the weekly journal Nature, the electrolyte used is concentrated potassium hydroxide. In a generator-like system, there is a difference in vapor pressure between the salt water and the electrolyte itself, and the seawater begins to gasify.
The main role of the suitcase equivalent of an electrolyzer is played by a membrane called polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). When seawater vapor passes through this membrane, it is absorbed there. 11 such electrolyzers were installed off the coast of Shenzhen and operated continuously for 133 days.
During this time, 386 liters of hydrogen were produced, but its quantity is very small, barely 31 grams. When it is put into a hydrogen vehicle, it can hardly travel three hundred kilometers.
An electrolyzer consumes five kilowatt hours of energy and operates at an efficiency of 71 percent. Most importantly, it has worked continuously during this time and has not been corroded by salt water or system failures.
The second important thing is that there is a certain amount of lithium in the sea, which may be present in the form of lithium phosphate. It should be noted that lithium is the backbone of battery production.
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