Investigating the Viability of Hydrogen Production from Sodium Borohydride Using Acetic Acid and Extracts from Spoilt Lemon, Lime and Orange

With the fast depletion of fossil fuel sources for energy production and coupled with their negative impacts on the environment, the continued search for alternative sources that are renewable, sustainable and environmentally friendly has become imperative. This research examined the performance of sodium borohydride for the production of hydrogen gas using 5 ml each of organic acid (acetic acid), spoilt extracts of citrus fruits (lime, lemon and orange) without the use of neither catalyst nor heat source. A three neck flat bottom flask was used in which sodium borohydride was reacted with extracts from the three spoilt fruits and acetic acid with concentrations of 1, 5, 7, 12 and 17.5 M. Volume of hydrogen gas produced were recorded and the results revealed that using 7 M solution of acetic acid and 1.0 gram sodium borohydride generated the highest volume of 2460 ml of hydrogen gas in 63.72 min while the undiluted extracts of spoilt orange, lemon and lime gave 100 ml in 0.68 min, 90 ml in 1.67 min and 60 ml in 0.5 min respectively. For the diluted fruit extracts, lime, orange and lemon at a dilution factor of 2 each, generated hydrogen gas of 80ml in 0.5 min, 70ml in 1.3 min and 70ml in 0.62 min respectively. All the reactions took place at an ambient temperature of 27°C. Being able to conveniently retrieve hydrogen from its combined state when needed would advance the use of hydrogen as a source of energy. (paper)