What Releases Hydrogen Ions?
- An atom of hydrogen consists of one proton, one neutron and one electron.atom image by Oleg Verbitsky from Fotolia.com
Hydrogen is the most basic atomic element in the universe, as well as the most abundant. Scientists estimate that hydrogen may make up as much as 75 percent of the atomic material in the universe. An ion is defined as any atom or molecule where the number of electrons, or negatively charged particles, are not equal to the number of protons, or positively charged particles, in the atoms. This gives the atom or molecule a net positive or negative charge. The most common form of hydrogen ion, technically called protium, can be produced through a variety of processes. - The most common method of producing or rendering hydrogen ions involves the use of fossil fuels such as methane or natural gas. One common method involves mixing methane gas with high-temperature water vapor. This causes a chemical reaction that produces carbon-monoxide gas and dihydrogen molecules. A secondary process mixes that carbon-monoxide with more water vapor to produce dihydrogen and carbon-dioxide.
- Also called "water splitting," industrial-scale production of hydrogen is often produced by the process of electrolysis. This process bypasses chemical interactions by passing an electrical charge through water (H2O), splitting it into its component parts. This is usually done in high-temperature and high-pressure systems to make the process more energy efficient.
- Thermolysis is another form of water splitting. This involves heating water to the point where the molecules naturally split apart into oxygen and hydrogen. This process requires such a high temperature (more than 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit) that it is often expensive and inefficient to do it in this way.
- The process of partial oxidation involves mixing a hydrocarbon such as oil with oxygen and then combusting the combination in a controlled environment. The end product is a synthesis gas made up of hydrogen and carbon-monoxide, which can then be further rendered down or simply used as-is for a hydrogen-based fuel.
- Plasma reformation is a fairly new process (developed in the 1980s) and is a means to render hydrocarbons into their components in a plasma burner, i.e. a very high-temperature heating system. This process is generally very energy efficient and produces pure carbon and pure hydrogen.
- Hydrogen atoms (and other elements) lose their electrons as a result of super high-temperatures such as exist in the sun. At such temperatures, raw hydrogen atoms lose their electrons forming hydrogen plasma.
