Hydrogen generation due to decomposition of carboxym ethyl-cellulose in muddy water

Abstract

The letter describes a novel hydrogen generation phenomenon observed for carboxymethyl-cellulose (CMC), used as a typical material for water-swellable tape in waterproof optical cable. A graded-index optical fibre set in CMC solution containing muddy water exhibits optical loss increase due to hydrogen gas generation, and the viscosity of the CMC solution decreases because of micro-organism decomposition.