H-TEC Education's 1-Cell Rebuildable PEM Electrolyzer Kit contains a Proton Exchange Membrane ElectrolyZer (PEMEZ) that can be completely disassembled and then reassembled especially for education and research purposes. The PEM electrolyzer can generate hydrogen and oxygen from de-ionized water (or distilled water) with the aid of a power supply. This education kit is ideal for students to learn about hydrogen economy and clean energy technologies. All the tools needed for assembly/disassembly of the 1-cell hardware are included! A power supply is not included in the education kit. A small and simple power supply that can provide the following voltage and current values will be sufficient to operate this electrolyzer cell: 0 V to 2.5 V and 0 A to 5 A.
In an electrolyzer, electrical energy is converted directly to chemical energy via electrochemical route. De-ionized water (or distilled water) is supplied from outside to the anode side of the electrolyzer cell and gets converted into hydrogen and oxygen gas. This is also known as electrolysis. In the electrolysis reaction, at the anode side, de-ionized water (or distilled water) is converted into protons, oxygen gas, and electrons. Protons travel to the cathode side by going through the membrane used inside the electrolyzer cell. Electrons travel to the cathode through the external circuit. At the cathode, proton ions get converted into hydrogen gas.
• Anode: 2H2O → 4H+ + O2 + 4e-
• Cathode: 4H+ + 4e- → 2H2
• Complete Reaction: 2H2O → 2H2 + O2
• Electrode Area: approximately 16 cm²
• Electrical voltage input (with room temp. de-ionized water, 20-23 deg Celsius): 0 V to 2.0 V
• Electrical current input (with room temp. de-ionized water, 20-23 deg Celsius): 0 A to 4.0 A
• Current Density (with room temp. de-ionized water, 20-23 deg Celsius): approximately 0 mA/cm2 to 250 mA/cm2
• Electrical voltage input (with slightly warmed de-ionized water, 36-39 deg Celsius): 0 V to 2.0 V
• Electrical current input (with slightly warmed de-ionized water, 36-39 deg Celsius): 0 A to 5.0 A
• Current Density (with slightly warmed de-ionized water, 36-39 deg Celsius): approximately 0 mA/cm2 to 312 mA/cm2
• Requires Commercial distilled (deionized) water with a conductivity of < 2 μS/cm
• Max. temperature for de-ionized water (or distilled water) for anode inlet: 60 deg Celsius
• Dimensions (H x W x D): 3.9" x 3.14" x 3.07" (98 x 80 x 78 mm)
• Weight: 8 oz (225 g)
The provided electrolyzer performance data is only for reference purposes. Depending on the quality of the de-ionized water, temperature of the water, ambient temperature, water transfer method (actively-fed with a liquid pump or gravity-fed), etc., the customers may get slightly lower or higher performance than the ones posted for this particular product.
H-TEC Education E208 1-Cell Rebuildable PEM Electrolyzer Manual