Making Hydrogen by Electrolysis of Methanol

Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory are developing apparatuses for electrolysis of methanol to produce pure hydrogen for use at industrial sites, in scientific laboratories, and in fuel cells. The state-of-the-art onsite hydrogen generators now in use are based on electrolysis of water to produce hydrogen, with oxygen as a byproduct that has no commercial value in this context. The developmental methanol electrolyzers consume less than half the electrical energy of water electrolyzers in producing a given amount of hydrogen. Even when the cost of methanol is included, the cost of producing hydrogen by electrolysis of methanol is still only about half that of producing hydrogen by electrolysis of water.