Hydrogen Generator Project

[cobra1]

Thought i would post an update.

The mold for the reactor shell is well underway, should have a completed shell in about a week or so.

I have been working on designing the internal parts of the reactor, so far i have the light rods and self cleaning mechanism nailed down.

the light rods will take the light from a window in the top of the reactor and project the lights down into the reactor, giving the algae the light they need to grow. The light rods are made from acrylic rods. Problem with acrylic is algae like to stick to it and would eventually block out the light.
To stop this happening i have designed a automatic cleaning system. It is a disk with holes in it, the light rods go through the holes, in the centre of the disk is a threaded rod, as the threaded rod turns it will move the disk up the rod, it will scrape off the algae sticking to the light rods. To turn the rod i looked at various different ideas, i eventually settled on a water powered vane motor, this vane motor will have to be specifically built to suit my needs, all i have to do to make it work is pump water through it, the water can be pumped through at a slow speed with quite low pressure.
The great thing about this motor is that i can use it underwater with no ill effects.

 

[cr0sh]

Well - that sounds like an interesting way to clean the rods, but I wonder if it will be effective over time? What will the disk be made out of? If you can have it made out of some conformal plastic (like LDPE, or perhaps silicone rubber) that is softer than the acrylic (perhaps with a harder carrier insert for the traveling "nut") - and make the holes slightly smaller than the rods - it would probably be more effective. Whereas using hard plastic would "scrape" along the rods, potentially scratching them and giving the critters a better "toe hold" later, and the holes might enlarge over time, preventing effective scraping; a softer material would prevent this, and act more like a "wiper blade". You'd have to design it in such a fashion so that it could be replaced occasionally, of course, and the torque of your water-powered motor would have to be increased as well, of course. Have you thought about possibly using a non-metallic rod, perhaps made of delrin or some other "self-lubricating" plastic, along with a similar nut? Also, what about custom building a sealed magnetic coupling to drive the shaft (see something like this: Homebuilt Rovs - obviously geared down, of course)? Just some thoughts - I think this project of yours is really fascinating, and you are taking it to the "n-th" degree, as a "homebrew" system; I hope it is as successful as you envision it to be - its certainly very ambitious!

 

[cobra1]

Hi crosh. The disk will most likely be made of acrylic, the plan is to make the holes around the rod larger and fit them with wiper seals, the type used on hydraulic cylinders for cleaning muck off while in use. Hopefully this will be effective and not cause damage to the rods themselves, alternatively i can make something using castable silicone rubber. I have a few KG left from a job i did a while back.

The rod is also made from acrylic, the "nut" will most likely be made of polycarbonate, these materials are a guess at what may be required for the job, Fortunatly i have a friend in the plastics business who will be able to select the perfect materials for the job, I get all my machining done on the cheap aswell which is good.

Thanks for your interest in this project, i too hope it turns out well.

 

[PlaneCrazy]

Have you calculated how much hydrogen you can produce? Grams/day, grams/kWh?

 

[PlaneCrazy]

I'm also investigating means by which to produce hydrogen, but while may are feasible, none seem efficient. The best reult for me would be max(E(hydrogen)/E(input)), E being the chemical potential energy of hydrogen.