We report a means of instantaneously producing hydrogen directly from alcohol using pulse-electron emission in an unsymmetrical electric field. We selected 1-butanol as a hydrogen-rich material for producing hydrogen. A I-butanol molecule has more than twice as many hydrogen atoms as the methanol molecule and is a good candidate for a hydrogen source. The direct electron emission on the surface of volatile 1-butanol prevented intense discharge and produced hydrogen at room temperature in air. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.