How much surface area is needed to make 1 liter of HHO gas per minute with an electrolyzer?

Answer 1

The issue is not only surface area. Electrolysis (with an acidic electrolyte) involves the diffusion of H+ ions to the cathode. This requires an electric field to separate the H+ ions from the water molecule at the anode, and to drag the ions across the electrolyte to the cathode. Of the supplied electrical energy, only about 5.2 V is needed to break apart two water molecules. The rest is used to fight the resistance of the electrolyte. So the problem is not just a matter of area, but how close together the electrodes are, how acidic (or basic) the electrolyte is, what the temperature is, and what the supplied voltage is. It also depends on the metals you have used for your electrodes.

To make this simple though, at 12 volts, you will need approximately 19 amps of current to make 1 L of HHO gas per minute. This assumes a 50% efficiency. If 'x' is the current for your test electrodes, then multiply the area of your electrodes by 19 and divide by x. The result will be approximately the final electrode area you will need to produce 1L / min for your separation, concentration, and temperature.

Alternatively, current is proportional to area, and HHO production is proportional to current. So you could measure the HHO production for your test electrodes, and then divide the area of the test electrodes by the number of liters of HHO gas they produced in a minute. This will tell you the final area you will need.