Abstract
Hydrogen generation from MgH2 is of interest to
the research community due to various alluring attributes of
MgH2 as a hydrogen generation substrate. In this study MgH2
powder was utilized as a substrate in hydrolysis reaction
catalyzed by acetic acid, an environmentally friendly and
relatively cheap acid. The reaction was conducted in a
hydrogen generation reactor operated in a batch mode. Three
sample weights (0.4g, 0.8g and 1.2g) of the substrates were
utilized for the experiment at 40, 50, 60 and 70 wt% acetic acid
concentration at 50 °C for investigation of the roles of
substrate weigh and catalyst concentration on hydrogen yield.
The results indicated that MgH2 powder weight influenced
hydrogen generation more compared to the catalyst
concentration. The highest hydrogen yield in the study was
0.048 L hydrogen gas from 0.4g MgH2 powder (70 wt% acetic
acid) while the highest hydrogen generation was reported when
1.2g substrate hydrolyzed in 50 wt% acetic acid.