The article investigates the potential for producing hydrogen by combining the methods of water splitting under cavitation and the chemical activation of aluminum in a high-speed cavitation–jet flow generated by a specialized hydrodynamic reactor. The process of cavitation and water spraying causes the liquid heating itself until it reaches saturated vapor pressure, resulting in the creation of vapor–gaseous products from the splitting of water molecules. The producing of vapor–gaseous products can be explained through the theory of non-equilibrium low-temperature plasma formation within a high-speed cavitation–jet flow of fluid. Special focus is also given to the interactions occurring at the interface boundary phase of aluminum and liquid under cavitation condition. The primary solid products formed on aluminum surfaces are bayerite, copper oxides (I and II), iron carbide, and a compound of magnesium oxides and aluminum hydroxide. A high hydrogen yield of 60% was achieved when using a 0.1% sodium hydroxide solution as a working liquid compared to demineralized water. Moreover, hydrogen methane was also detected in the volume of the vapor–gas mixture, which could be utilized to address the challenges of decarbonization and the recycling of aluminum-containing solid industrial and domestic waste. This work provides a contribution to the study of the mechanism of hydrogen generation by cavitation–jet processing of water and aqueous alkali solutions, in which conditions are created for double cavitation in the cavitation–jet chamber of the hydrodynamic reactor.

The mechanism of formation of slightly crosslinked composite hydrogels based on natural agar-agar polysaccharide, synthetic polymers for medical purposes – poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and low-molecular plasticizers (polyethylene glycol PEG-400 and glycerin) synthesized by electron irradiation was considered from the point of view of analyzing their mechanical characteristics under various types of applied efforts. It is established that the synthesis conditions and the component composition of the initial mixture determine the formed structure of the hydrogel compositions and their mechanical properties. A new interpretation of the formation of the structure of composite hydrogels in the presence of various plasticizers is given. A detailed analysis of the deformation curves of composite hydrogels is presented taking into account the elastic-elastic, highly elastic and forced-elastic states.