Uses of Hydrogen and Oxygen

Hydrogen for commercial use is compressed to 150 atm and distributed in steel cylinders marked red, equipped with left threaded armatures. Electrolytic hydrogen contains 1 to 2% oxygen, which can easily be removed by leading it through platinized asbestos at a temperature of 400 to 500 °C. 

Oxygen compressed to 150 atm. is sold yi steel cylinders marked blue. When oxygen is required in a large amount it is supplied in liquid form. This makes it much easier to transport and saves transportation cost, which is considerable in the case of steel cylinders filled with compressed gas. Liquid oxygen is transported in special steel tanks mounted on railway waggons. The tanks are spherical in shape, to keep their surface area as small as possible and are covered on the outside by insulating material. 

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Electrolysis of acidified water using platinum electrodes is a convenient source of hydrogen (and oxygen) and, on a larger scale, very pure hydrogen (>99.95%) can be obtained from the electrolysis of warm aqueous solutions of barium hydroxide between nickel electrodes. The method is expensive but becomes economical... 

Based on the data of hydrogen and oxygen atoms scattering by the surface of ZnO film obtained by the method of atom beams we calculated the degree of ionization of chemosorbed particles on the film using the variation of its conductivity (see Table 3.1) [23]. 

We ivill discuss the reaction of hydrogen and oxygen on transition metals first. This reaction has been extensively studied in our laboratory 18-32) using evaporated metal films as a catalyst. From our previous considerations it follows that as a consequence of the choice of this particular system we must restrict ourselves to certain problems only. We cannot identify the surface species (we can indirectly indicate only some of them) nor understand completely their role in the reaction. Because of the polycrystalline character of the film, all the experimental results are averaged over all the surface. Several new problems thus arise, such as grain boundaries, and, consequently, the exact physical interpretation of these results is almost impossible it is more or less a speculative one. However, we can still get some valuable information concerning the chemical nature of the active chemisorption complex. The experimental method and the considerations will be shown in full detail for nickel only. For other metals studied in our laboratory, only the general conclusions will be presented here. 

If our planet did not have oxygen in the air, and if water, a compound of hydrogen and oxygen, were also not present, there could be none of the life we know on earth. Thus, oxygen s most important function is to support life. Oxygen gas is used in medi- i cine (oxygen tents) and in industry. It is also used as a bleach and 1 combines with many other elements to form useful compounds. 

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