PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN BY THERMAL DECOMPOSITION OF WATER

摘要

The invention provides processes and apparatus for producing hydrogen from water, including the steps of heating water to a water dissociating temperature to form a dissociated water reaction mixture comprising hydrogen gas and oxygen gas. A vortex is formed of the reaction mixture to subject the reaction mixture to a centrifugal force about a longitudinal axis of an interior space of a vortex tube reactor, so that there is radial stratification of the hydrogen gas and the oxygen gas in the interior space of the vortex tube reactor. Hydrogen or oxygen is preferentially extracted from the reaction mixture at spaced apart points along the length of the interior space of the vortex tube reactor.