What Is Electrolysis?

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Electrolysis involves chemical reactions that otherwise would not happen, which means that there are multiple uses of electrolysis in industrial manufacturing. For example, some companies use it to make certain metals more resistant to corrosion, a process known as anodization. People also use electrolysis to etch and decorate metal surfaces, as well as for layering metals to make them stronger (electroplating). This process is common as it lowers production costs. The technique is also useful for electrometallurgy, which is separating and purifying metals.[pic 7]

Uses for electrolysis also includes separating water molecules into their base elements of hydrogen and oxygen. This technique is useful in harsh or restricted environments. Astronauts, for example, get the oxygen they need through electrolysis, as do those who travel on submarines.

Another of the uses of electrolysis is the creation of substances. Sodium chlorate, potassium chlorate, chlorine and aluminium all are produced via electrolysis. Other substances created via electrolysis are magnesium and calcium. These substances are used for tasks like building, bleaching and sterilizing.

Individuals can also study solutions using electrolysis, a field known as polarography. The principle of polarography is that one that can conduct qualitative or quantitative analysis by comparing the amount of voltage applied to the solution, to the amount of current that passes through the solution.

An important use of electrolytic cells is the electroplating of silver, gold, chromium and nickel. Electroplating produces a very thin coating of these expensive metals on the surfaces of cheaper metals, giving them the appearance and the chemical resistance of the expensive ones.[pic 8]

In silver plating, the object to be plated, for example a spoon, is used as the cathode. A bar of silver metal is used as the anode. The electrolyte is a solution of silver cyanide (AgCN). When this arrangement is connected to a battery, electrons flow into the cathode where they combine with silver ions from the electrolyte to form silver atoms.[pic 9]

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These silver atoms plate out as a thin coating on the cathode (in this case, the spoon). At the anode, silver atoms give up electrons and become silver ions in the electrolyte.

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Silver is cycled, therefore, from the anode to the electrolyte to the cathode, where it is plated out.

Future uses of Electrolysis

In the future, electrolysis will have many new uses. Our uses of fossil fuels will eventually end and the economy will move from being based on fossil fuels to being based on hydrogen. Hydrogen in itself will not act as an energy source but rather as an energy carrier. The use of hydrogen will have many advantages over fossil fuels. First of all, the use of hydrogen will emit less greenhouse gases when it is used compared to fossil fuels. It can also be produced from clean energy sources which makes the emission of greenhouse gases even less.

The use of hydrogen fuel cells will improve the efficiency of hydrogen as a fuel source, mainly in transportation. A hydrogen fuel cell has an efficiency of 60%. That is 3 times as much as the efficiency of a fossil fuel powered car with about 20% efficiency which loses a lot of energy as heat to the surrounding environment. The hydrogen fuel cell has less moveable parts and does not lose as much energy during its reaction. Another advantage of hydrogen as a future energy carrier is that it is easy to store and distribute and it can be done in many ways. This is where it has its advantage over electricity as the energy carrier of the future. Electricity requires a large network of wires to be distributed and storage of electricity is very inefficient and impractical.

Hydrogen can be transported and distributed in a cheap and easy way. It can also be stored without any drawbacks. Currently, the main methods of producing hydrogen are by reforming natural gas and dissociating hydrocarbons. A smaller amount is produced by electrolysis. Natural gas and hydrocarbons however will not last forever and this is where industries will have to use electrolysis to acquire hydrogen.

They do this by sending current through water, which leads to hydrogen forming at the cathode and oxygen forming at the anode. The beauty of this is that electrolysis can be performed wherever there is an energy source. That means that scientists and industries can use renewable energy sources like solar power and wind to produce hydrogen. They will not be reliable on a certain geographic location and can produce hydrogen locally where they need it. This is also beneficial energy wise since less energy is used for transportation of the gas.

Electrolysis plays an important role in modern life. Whether it is the production of aluminium, electroplating metals, or producing certain chemical compounds, the process of electrolysis is essential in the daily life of most people. It has been developed thoroughly since its discovery in 1800 and will probably become even more important in the future. The world needs a substitute for fossil fuels and hydrogen seems to be the best option. In the future hydrogen will also need to be produced by electrolysis. The process will be improved and will become even more important in daily life than it is now.

Reference

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