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HYDROGEN
Hydrogen has the highest energy content of any common fuel by weight known to
man (about three times more than gasoline), it is the lightest element, and it
is a gas at room temperature and pressure.
 Hydrogen gas is lighter than air and, as a result, it rises in the atmosphere.
This is why hydrogen as a gas (H2) is not found by itself on earth. It is found
only in compound form with other elements. Hydrogen combined with oxygen, is
water (H2O) and is also found in all growing things. Since hydrogen doesn't
exist on earth as a gas, we must separate it from other elements. We can
separate hydrogen atoms from water, the two most common methods for producing
hydrogen are electrolysis (water splitting) and steam reforming. Electrolysis is
a process that splits hydrogen from water. It results in no emissions and new
technologies are being developed all the time.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the primary user of
hydrogen as an energy fuel; "it has used hydrogen for years in the space program".
Liquid hydrogen fuel lifts the space shuttle into orbit. Hydrogen
batteries also called "fuel cells", power the shuttle’s electrical systems. The only
by-product is pure water, which the crew uses as drinking water.
Hydrogen has great potential as an environmentally clean energy fuel and as a
way to reduce reliance on imported energy sources and every region of the
country (and the world) has water that can be used to make hydrogen. Its
flexibility is one of its main advantages.
Supplementing with Hydrogen
A supplemental hydrogen system is just that,
supplemental to the use of fuel in your vehicle. Use of a system is not an
attempt to run your vehicle on hydroxy gas exclusively. Instead, it is a way to
more efficiently burn the gasoline that you are already using. How? By more
fully atomising the petrol molecules and burning them as a vapor instead of the
larger droplets they would normally be.
You’re probably wondering why the combustion
process wouldn’t already be efficient since it was designed by top engineers at
automotive manufacturers and why supplemental hydrogen isn’t incorporated into
our vehicles today. The answer is found in a question…When a new vehicle is
designed, who is it designed for? EVERYONE.
When new cars are made, they have to be
marketable not just on the basis of fuel economy, but also on the basis of
horsepower, torque and user intervention. So you might be seeking the highest
kilometres per litre (KmPL) rating while someone else will see horsepower as a
major buying factor. Even the person seeking highest KmPL might not purchase a
supplemental hydrogen vehicle if they had to regularly check and refill not only
the fuel but also the water and electrolyte used to produce the hydroxy gas.
This is where user intervention becomes a
factor. Every car design is a COMPROMISE. It has to be marketable to a
large demographic of drivers.
So, by using a supplemental hydrogen system we
are simply taking a vehicle that’s compromised and inefficient and bringing it
up to a higher level of efficient combustion. This benefit can then be directed
to either increased horsepower or better fuel economy, based on the user’s
preference.
How it works
We have discussed the mechanics of electrolysis
so we will only briefly recap here. Electrolysis is employed by using an
electrolyzer to produce hydroxy gas (a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen gas).
When electrical current is passed through conductive plates that sit in a
medium of electrolyte, hydroxy gas is liberated.
Electrolysis in Action
The chemical equation for electrolysis is:
energy (electricity) + 2 H2O
-> O2 + 2 H2
It is important to note that for fuel savings to
be substantial, at least a litre of gas per minute is required from the fuel
cell. The hydroxy gas is then drawn into the vehicle’s air intake via vacuum,
subsequently making the combustion process to become more efficient.
Many believe that the exogenous hydrogen /
oxygen mixture is responsible for ensuing fuel savings because it is used
primarily for its energy worth – but this is not the case. Conventional fuel or
diesel can only be atomised to a certain degree before the droplets enter the
combustion chamber. These droplets are still enormously large on a microscopic
level, effectively meaning that only a finite percentage can be used as energy
for combustion purposes – the rest is blown out your exhaust as unburnt fuel.
When the fuel charge is supplemented with
hydroxy gas, the smaller molecules of the hydroxy gas strike the larger pre
heated fuel molecules, breaking down the covalent bonds even further and in
effect atomising the already existing fuel. This adds up to a bigger bang
requiring less fuel for a greater compression power stroke, whilst secondarily
adding itself as an additional fuel.
As we have already covered within the
SAVINGS part of this website, an electrolyzer producing gas without any
electrical intervention, will not reflect in actual fuel savings (except with
diesel vehicles). The reason behind this is that when hydroxy gas is burnt,
extra oxygen gas appears in the exhaust. With EFI governed engines a sensor
within the exhaust will tell the ECU that the engine must be running lean – thus
compensating with more fuel.
The way we get around this is by compensating
with a MAP / MAF sensor enhancer. This manipulates the air / fuel ratio by
adjusting the voltage that is sent back to the ECU. Fuel usage is controlled via
manipulating the base width injector spray.
Up until recently, there
have been few devices within the marketplace that were able to tackle this
problem. Our Electronic Control Circuit works and overcomes this problem by
allowing you to apply an offset to the voltage coming from the MAP/MAF sensor,
so your vehicle's computer is completely unaware that the oxygen content of the
exhaust has increased.
Our Electronic Control
Circuit allows for a more comprehensible range of settings, so you can dial in a
leaner setting to get the most appropriate air/fuel ratio that is best for your
application. We have found that an air to fuel ratio within the vicinity of 18:1
or 19:1 is the best compromise between fuel efficiency and reliability.
Note:
By using a supplemental hydrogen system we are simply taking a vehicle that is
compromised and inefficient, and raising it up to a higher level of efficient
combustion. Depending on the chosen application, this technology allows the
vehicle owner to decide if the primary objective is for more power or greater
fuel efficiency – or a combination of both.
Hydrogen generators work
very good for most engines that run on petrol, LPG and diesel. Hydrogen
generators are highly recommended for trucks. It has been found that a generator
producing around 100 litres/hour is best for most medium sized vehicles.
Quotes
“…a
small amount of hydrogen added to the air intake of a gasoline engine would
enhance the flame velocity and thus permit the engine to operate with leaner air
to gasoline mixture than otherwise possible. The result, far less pollution with
more power and better mileage...”
Ex-professor of Dynamics and Canadian inventor
“…use of
mixtures of hydrogen in small quantities and conventional fuels offers
significant reductions in exhaust emissions… Relatively small amounts of
hydrogen can dramatically increase horsepower and reduce exhaust emissions...”
Roy
MacAlister, PE of the American Hydrogen Association
“…the
addition of some hydrogen to the methane, speeds up the rates of initiation and
subsequent propagation of flames over the whole combustible mixture range,
including for very fast flowing mixtures. This enhancement of flame initiation
and subsequent flame propagation reduces the ignition delay and combustion
period in both spark ignition and compression ignition engines which should lead
to noticeable improvements in the combustion process and performance.”
A recent
study at the University
of
Calgary
by G.A. Karim
“…the J.P.L. concept has
unquestionably demonstrated that the addition of small quantities of gaseous
hydrogen to the primary gasoline significantly reduces CO and NOx exhaust
emissions while improving engine thermal efficiency...”
A study in
1974 by the California Institute of Technology, at its Jet Propulsion Lab
Pasadena
“…cooler
exhaust temperatures show that more work is taken out during the power stroke.
More torque from less fuel at the same R.P.M. verifies that higher pressure from
a faster burn, acting through a longer effective power stroke, produces more
torque and thus more work from less fuel...”
The
results of tests at Corrections Canada’s, Bowden Alberta Institution
“…hydrocarbon
emissions as well as Nitric Oxide emissions could almost be reduced to zero. A
50% reduction in gasoline consumption, at idle, was reported by numerically
analyzing the effect of hydrogen enriched gasoline on performance, emissions and
fuel consumption of a small spark plugged engine...”
Department
of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, China
“…CEE
feels that the result of this test verifies that this technology is a viable
source for reducing emissions and fuel consumption
on large diesel engines...”
California
Environmental Engineering (CEE) has tested this technology and found reduction
on all exhaust emissions
  
CLICK HERE TO REALISE THE
BENEFITS
OF HYDROGEN FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGY TODAY
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