Demo of a PEM electrolyzer bought on Aliexpress and use… — Transcript

Demo of a PEM electrolyzer from AliExpress used to produce hydrogen for inflating balloons, with efficiency and cost analysis.

Key Takeaways

PEM electrolyzers can efficiently produce high purity hydrogen suitable for inflating balloons.
Using a PC power supply is a practical and affordable power source for the electrolyzer.
Hydrogen is significantly cheaper than helium for balloon inflation, making the electrolyzer cost-effective.
Mylar balloons retain hydrogen much longer than latex balloons, though latex balloons are cheaper.
Hydrogen has versatile applications beyond balloons, such as heating and cooking.

Summary

Introduction to a PEM electrolyzer purchased on AliExpress, explaining its features and operation.
Demonstration of connecting the electrolyzer with flexible pipes and a DC power supply, including modifications using a PC power supply.
Use of a buffer bottle to remove water from hydrogen before inflating balloons.
Inflation of large Mylar balloons with hydrogen, measuring balloon mass, volume, and lift.
Comparison of measured lift with calculated lift using a custom program.
Energy consumption measurement during balloon inflation and calculation of hydrogen production cost.
Cost comparison between hydrogen and helium for balloon inflation, highlighting hydrogen's affordability.
Demonstration of burning hydrogen-filled balloons and safety notes.
Use of 3D printed tips for inflating latex balloons and discussion of balloon material pros and cons.
Mention of upcoming videos showing other hydrogen applications like heating or cooking.

Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

Speaker A

Hi, I present you this PEM electrolyzer.

Speaker A

bought on AliExpress for a quite reasonable price.

Speaker A

PEM stands for Proton Exchange Membrane.

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PEM electrolyzers have many qualities, they generate very high purity hydrogen, have excellent energy efficiency, have a long lifespan, run on distilled water and are very compact as seen here.

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The one I am presenting can produce 300 milliliters of hydrogen per minute.

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I will demonstrate how to operate it and then I will inflate a large Mylar balloon with the hydrogen it produces.

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Let's get this started.

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We use flexible pipes with an outer diameter of 6 mm.

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They are available in most DIY stores.

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I connect the water inlet, the hydrogen outlet and the oxygen outlet.

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Then I connect the positive and negative terminals to the DC power supply and that's it.

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The electrolyzer is running.

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The oxygen outlet goes into the water tank.

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The hydrogen doesn't go directly into the balloon, it flows through a buffer bottle first, the role of this buffer bottle is to remove the small amounts of water found in the hydrogen output, which would otherwise end up in the balloon.

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According to the data sheet, the operating voltage is around 7 to 9 volts for a current of 20 to 22 amps, voltage is very low but amperage is rather high, it's not convenient at all to power.

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At first I used a stabilized power supply, but not everyone has one at home.

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I then came up with the great idea of using a PC power supply.

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It provides 12 volts, which is too much, but it also outputs 5 volts, which is nearly what we need.

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The yellow wires carry 12 volts and the red wires carry 5 volts, but all those dangling wires are really not practical.

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I resolved the issue by installing 4 mm banana plugs on the power supply casing.

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Let me show you I did it.

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Banana plugs are available in electronic stores.

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Here is how I did the wiring, if you're comfortable using a soldering iron, you can do the same as I did.

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I salvaged this power supply from a PC I found on the street, so it didn't cost me anything.

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Here is a PC tower I recently found on the street, not far from my home.

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The power supply is located at the top rear.

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It works fine.

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I checked it.

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At the recycling center, you often find desktop computers, you can go check there.

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Do not use too thin cables nor poor quality connectors, like the ones I show here.

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Otherwise the cable will overheat and there will be a loss of power and efficiency.

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Use large gauge cables and connectors or crocodile clips of sufficient size like this one.

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I will inflate a large Mylar balloon, measure its lift and then compare the measured lift with the calculated lift.

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First, let's measure the mass of the envelope.

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This will be useful later to calculate the lift.

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The mass is 24.6 grams.

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The power supply is connected to a smart outlet to measure energy consumption.

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I will then see how much energy was needed to inflate the balloon.

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Inflating the balloon takes a little time.

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So let's time-lapse.

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The speed is accelerated 750 times here.

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A nice, well-inflated balloon with pure hydrogen.

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Now let's measure the lift of the balloon.

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For this purpose, we will use a 150 gram weight.

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And we weigh the whole.

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The mass is now 94.6 grams, we deduce that the lift is 55.4 grams.

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Let's compute the lift with my program and compare it with the measurement.

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I enter the diameter of the balloon, which is about 51.8 cm.

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To obtain this value, I measured a circumference of about 163 cm, then I divided it by pi.

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Then I enter the mass of the balloon envelope, which is about 24.6 grams.

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Here are the results.

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We get a lift of 56.6 grams, that's pretty close to the measurement, which is 55.4 grams.

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Let's see the electrical consumption measurements obtained.

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Here are some screenshots of the mobile app for the connected plugs.

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We used 508 watt-hours of energy to inflate a balloon with a volume of 73 liters, which amounts to about 7 watt-hour of energy consumed per liter produced.

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What about the cost of producing hydrogen?

Speaker A

As mentioned earlier, I used 508 watt-hours of energy to inflate a 73 liters balloon, so the energy needed to produce 1 cubic meter is about 7 kilowatt-hours, assuming a price of 20 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is the rate in France, the electrical cost to produce 1 cubic meter of hydrogen amounts to 1 euro and 40 cents, or approximately 1 dollar and 50 cents.

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What about helium?

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In 2024, the price of helium varies between 30 and 100 dollars per cubic meter, that's more than 20 times more expensive than hydrogen.

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If you have many balloons to inflate, the purchase of the PEM electrolyzer will quickly pay for itself.

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Let's inflate another Mylar balloon.

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I'm going to show what happens when we burn a hydrogen-filled balloon.

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The speed is accelerated 300 times here.

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I measure the diameter of the balloon.

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Diameter is 110 cm.

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So the volume is about 22 liters.

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Wow.

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Nice, this is really pure hydrogen.

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Here I am outside to burn a bigger balloon filled with pure hydrogen.

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Wait.

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Really pure hydrogen?

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Unfortunately, air has entered the balloon, not good.

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Ouch, my right hand.

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In order to inflate latex balloons, I 3D printed this tip.

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Let's time-lapse.

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The speed is accelerated 200 times here.

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I prefer Mylar balloons because they are more durable, reusable, and most importantly, they retain hydrogen much longer than latex balloons, however, latex balloons have the advantage of being more affordable.

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Inflating a latex balloon with a PEM electrolyzer is completely straightforward.

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Obviously, a PEM electrolyzer isn't just for inflating balloons lighter than air.

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In an upcoming video, I will show you how to use hydrogen for heating or cooking, stay tuned.

Topics:PEM electrolyzerhydrogen productionballoon inflationAliExpressDIY hydrogenenergy efficiencyhydrogen costMylar balloonPC power supplyhydrogen safety

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the key qualities of the PEM electrolyzer presented in the video?

The PEM electrolyzer generates very high purity hydrogen, has excellent energy efficiency, boasts a long lifespan, runs on distilled water, and is very compact. It can produce 300 milliliters of hydrogen per minute.

How does the presenter address the issue of water in the hydrogen output before inflating the balloon?

The hydrogen flows through a buffer bottle first, which removes small amounts of water found in the hydrogen output. This prevents the water from ending up in the balloon.

What power supply solution did the presenter devise for the electrolyzer, and why?

The presenter used a PC power supply, specifically the 5-volt output, because the electrolyzer's operating voltage is around 7-9 volts. They modified it by installing 4 mm banana plugs for convenience, as a stabilized power supply is not commonly available.

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