Other Sources of Hydrogen

Hydrogen gas can be prepared by reacting a dilute strong acid like hydrochloric acids with an active metal. The metal becomes oxides, while the H⁺ (from the acid) is reduced to hydrogen gas. This method is only practical for producing small amounts of hydrogen in the lab, but is much too costly for industrial production: 

The purest form of H₂(g) can come from electrolysis of H₂O(l), the most common hydrogen compound on this plant. This method is also not commercially viable because it requires a significant amount of energy (ΔH=572kJ):

(H₂O) is the most abundant form of hydrogen on the planet, so it seems logical to try to extract hydrogen from water without electrolysis of water. To do so, we must reduce the hydrogen with +1 oxidation state to hydrogen with 0 oxidation state (in hydrogen gas). Three commonly used reducing agents are carbon (in coke or coal), carbon monoxide, and methane. These react with water vapor form H₂(g):

Reforming of Methane:

These three methods are most industrially feasible (cost effective) methods of producing H₂(g).