Hydrogen Gas Expelled When Exposed to Metal(s)

The reason hydrogen is produced when acid and a metal are combined is because the halogen breaks off and bonds to the metal element. The two hydrogen atoms then combine to create the hydrogen gas.

Diesels' chemical composition is typically C₁₂H₂₃ (though it does vary) and does not react in the way that you'd want it to with metal. I'm not sure whether or not there is a catalyst out there that does facilitate this, but based on a quick search, I would suspect that there isn't.

"The reason hydrogen is produced when acid and a metal are combined is because the halogen breaks off and bonds to the metal element. The two hydrogen atoms then combine to create the hydrogen gas."

This is complete drivel. Who said an acid has to contain one of the halogens? Do you even know what a halogen is?

It may not be well expressed, but it is far from complete drivel. One example of a metal-acid reaction is

Fe + 2HCl --> FeCl2 + 2H2

It is true that the acid might equally be sulphuric acid and not involve a halogen. The strongly reactive metals, like lithium and sodium, will react even with water to generate hydrogen.
It is also true that the components of diesel fuel will not react in this way.

I would concur with the original reply that it is drivel not just poorly expressed.

There are 5 halogens which form acids of the form you note which makes them an almost insignificant proportion of the acid family by number (although HCl / HF are among the more well known useful and mass produced acids). However the comment is irrelevant and confusing and not helpful to the OP

The same applies to your chemical equation which sadly does not balance

Sorry, but even that is not correct. Only 1 molecule of H2 is produced, not 2.

Fair comment, but since HCl has much commercial use and can be used to generate hydrogen, the typo is not too terrible.

As well as the drivel on acids the formulation for diesel is a bit worrying too!

Diesel like all hydrocarbon products is a blend of dozens of hydrocarbons most of which have the formulation Cn H2n+2

There are many reactions and processes that crack long HCs to form smaller more valuable products however I think most of these would absorb H2 eg if you split C12H26 to make two C6 molecules you will likely get C6H12 (hexene with double bond) andC6H14 (hexane) but these all require lots of heat because the C-H bond is very stable

I think maybe you are looking for a reaction that strips an H2 pair from a hydrocarbon and forms

CH3-(CH2)n-CH=CH2 + H2

If you dig around in the reactions to produce athen and propene (which are precursors for polyethylene and polypropylene) you may have some joy but again there si going to be lots of heat involved

Just a thought but is the diesel contaminated with acid? That might be the likeliest cause if you are describing something observed!

What do you want, Boss? The metal to disappear, the hydrogen gas to be generated or the diesel to disappear?

Want the metal to disappear and the Hydrogen to be generated.

Save the diesel. Use water.

Hope you don't smoke cigarettes?!

Dear Sir,

Please explain the apparatus which is shown in the car in detail. What was proved using this ? what is the conclusion of the experiment ?

Looks interesting !

It is a sham device that is supposed to increase the fuel mileage of vehicles by generating Hydrogen/Oxygen to burn in your engine.

Widely disproved as not effective.

Oxyhydrogen Generator

I don't spot the logic or reason you want to try to melt a metal with diesel fuel in order to generate hydrogen.

Are you trying to get rid of diesel fuel and want hydrogen to use? Electrolysis of water would be easier and probably more cost effective.

Are you trying to dissolve metal? Why use diesel to dissolve metal? Cut it up and salvage/sell it for scrap value.

This seems a strange request.

Well given that diesel fuel is a hydrocarbon you only have two primary elements to work with one being hydrogen and the other being carbon.

Carbon as far as I know does not readily react directly with any of the metallic elements if it has hydrogen or an oxygen atoms already attached to it in a molecular bond.

So no it wont do a direct conversion to hydrogen gas and a solid or liquid particulate.

What do you want to get hydrogen gas from diesel fuel for anyway?

I think I know what you're going for. When steam hits zirconium metal, hydrogen is liberated in a catalytic process. This is what causes hydrogen explosions within nuclear reactors.

I'm not sure what would crack diesel, but heat would likely need to be involved in the process.

Rather than diesel, use an acid instead. Nice and simple.

Yep! heat up a 35% solution of HCL and water to 71 degrees C and presto you have H. And other nastier stuff.

Yet more drivel! If you heat up 35% HCl (i.e. concentrated hydrochloric acid) to 71 deg C, what you have is hot concentrated HCl. No hydrogen is released. Only a bit of HCl gas, which is always present over the acid anyway.

People with a tiny smattering of chemistry, do us a favour - please go elsewhere.

HAY! I am an ME, any chemistry question i call the metallurgic engineer, ( i liked organic chemistry so much i took it twice), As far as being wrong i am just quoting from ASTM. and reported boiling points from HCL concentrations as i have to set up a heavy acid etch test on Cs slab sections.

Ah well, we have something in common - have you spotted it? We have (or had, now) both made 192 posts.

Mg dissolves in HCl

If you add Mg metal (Mg) to hydrochloric acid (HCl), the Mg will dissolve and will form bubbles of hydrogen gas (H₂). As a result of the reaction, water vapour will also be released, and when measuring the volume of H₂(g), you need to take into account that water vapour is mixed with the H₂(g). When the Mg dissolves, it forms magnesium ions with a +2 charge (Mg²⁺) , and when the hydrogen atoms form H₂ gas, they leave behind chloride ions, Cl^-. Then, the Mg²⁺ ions will bond with the Cl^- ions. Here is the single replacement reaction equation: Mg_(s) + 2 HCl_(aq) → MgCl_2­(aq) + H_2(g)A very similar reaction will happen if you add Mg to any strongly acidic solution, such as sulphuric acid. Here the reaction is: Mg_(s) + H₂SO_4(aq) → MgSO_4(aq) + H_2(g)
In many of our alloys we have high Mg.
Ron

The pot calling the kettle black.

The process you are referring to is known as "cracking", and it a very common one in the petroleum industry. If you Google "Cracking", you'll find several different processes.

In most cases, the financial incentive is to produce smaller hydrocarbon molecules, the H2 is considered a bit of a waste product. If H2 is the desired product, I would think that more aggressive techniques would yield more H2.

However, I don't see any way this would be an economical process, if H2 is your main goal.

I can't think of a metal that will do this. Highly reactive metals (e.g. sodium) are stored in hydrocarbon oils to prevent them from reacting. If you want hydrogen from diesel fuel there are many processes for cracking hydrocarbon fuels.

Here is a paper describing work at JPL generating H2 from gasoline. The H2 was then introduced into the intake airstream. If the engine is set to run extremely lean, then the H2 can reduce misfiring. Reading this study will get you familiar with one process and give you some terminology to Google.

I didn't get the link to the JPL report. Could you send again? Your answer is more in line with the info I was looking for. I appreciate your input.

Here it is. There are a couple like this.

This is another.

And this is another.

There are lots of possibilities for metals in water, such as this one.