Electrolysis of water. How the process takes place and why it is needed

Electrolysis is a special physicochemical process in which a liquid or, in other words, an electrolyte, decomposes into positive and negative ions. This happens under the influence of an electric current. How does this process proceed?

Electrolysis of water is due to the fact that the electric current, passing through the electrolyte, causes a reaction on the electrodes on which the positive and negative ions settle. Cations are deposited on the negatively charged electrode (cathode), respectively, on the positive (anode) - anions. The electrolyte can consist of water in which acid is added or it is a solution of salts. The decomposition of salts into metal and an acid residue occurs after an electric current is passed through the electrolyte. Charged with positive electricity, the metal approaches the cathode (negatively charged electrode), it is this metal that is called the cation. The acid residue, negatively charged, tends to the anode (a positively charged electrode), and is called the anion. Electrolysis makes it possible to obtain from the salts of well-purified elements, due to which it finds wide application in various branches of modern industry.

Electrolysis of water is vital today, when thousands of enterprises use water for individual stages of their production. This is explained by the fact that after most processes that are carried out in enterprises, water after use turns into a dangerous liquid for humans and wildlife. Electrolysis of water serves for the purification of waste water, which must not enter the ground or sources of clean water. These wastewater must be cleaned in order to prevent an ecological catastrophe, the risk of which is already high enough in many regions of Russia.

Today there are several methods of electrolysis of water. These include electroextraction, electrocoagulation and electroflotation. Electrolysis of water used for sewage treatment is carried out in electrolysers. These are special structures in which organic substances decompose into metals, acids and other substances belonging to the category of inorganic origin. It is especially important to carry out wastewater treatment in hazardous industries, such as chemical plants, where copper and lead are being handled, as well as at factories that produce paints, varnishes, enamels. Of course, this is by no means a cheap method of water purification by electrolysis, but the costs associated with water purification do not go to any comparison with human health and environmental care.

An interesting fact, but it is possible to carry out electrolysis of water at home. This process will not take much time and money and will provide an opportunity to get oxygen and hydrogen. In a container of water in which the salt has been previously dissolved, (salt must be taken at least ¼ of the water volume), two electrodes fall. They can be made from any metal. Electrodes are connected to a power source with a current strength of at least 0.5 A. On one of the electrodes, bubbles are formed, which indicates that electrolysis of water at home is successful. This way it is possible to get caustic sodium, chlorine and other chemical elements, depending on what the electrolyte consists of. Plasma electrolysis of water is used in plasma heaters. This is the newest modern device operating in the modes of plasma electrolysis of water and its direct heating up to certain temperatures. Plasma electrolysis of water provides an opportunity for obtaining new types of energy, which every day more and more needs mankind. The energy that can be obtained from water will provide an opportunity to create new, safe and efficient types of energy sources. The phenomena of plasma electrolysis of water have not yet been studied to the end, but they have great prospects and therefore are intensively studied by modern scientists.