Re: How-to run an Engine on Hydrogen

Norman Wootan ( normw@fastlane.net )
Fri, 17 Apr 1998 09:08:29 -0500

Jerry: As I was driving home yesterday (5:30) there was an anouncement on
KRLD regards a Solar Hydrogen Car being unveiled at Golden Colorado. Did you
here about this? Let's try to pull up some details. Go back into the
message base and read My and Gerald O's comments on Neodyminum catalist for a
solar hydrogen generator. This technology was announced by PRC (China) back
in the fall of 93. Norm

Jerry W. Decker wrote:

> Hi Folks!
>
> I found this in the sci.hydrogen DejaNews;
> -------------------------
> I have been researching the process of splitting water (H2O) into its
> components, Hydrogen and Oxygen, to be re-mixed and burned as fuel
> since '66.
>
> I have noticed many questions from novices regarding auto conversion to
> hydrogen. Here are a few bits of info that should help. Hopefully, you
> won't have to pay any "non-profit" groups just for information on this
> low -polluting fuel [when burned with air, 78% Nitrogen, there is
> Nitrogen Oxide emissions (smog)].
>
> The conversion of a vehicle to hydrogen is relatively simple and
> inexpensive, using an older car before fuel injection. It is very
> similar to a propane conversion, costing about $500.
>
> The main parts needed are an Impco model CA300 type carburetor, an Impco
> low pressure regulator, a hydrogen storage tank, and the hydrogen, (try
> Linde Co).
>
> Because hydrogen burns very hot (it will burn a hole through a normal
> piston) some use plastic polymer coated pistons or sodium filled valves
> (expensive). Most solve this problem by mixing in some of the water as
> (steam) vapor to cool the combustion at the expense of loss of power.
>
> Since hydrogen has 2.5 times the power of gasoline, it doesn't matter
> much. You can still keep up with a supercharged race car... Because of
> the rapid combustion, the ignition gap has to be very small, like .001
> inch.
>
> One of the vehicles ERDA reviewed way back in '74 used oxygen instead of
> air, to burn the hydrogen. The Perris Smogless Automobile Association
> from UCLA was using a Model "A" Ford as one of their hydrogen fueled
> test engines that carried a tank of compressed hydrogen and a tank of
> compressed oxygen.
>
> This was mixed together in an "oxybureter" (a closed carburater)and then
> ignited in the cylinders, as is gasoline. The exhaust was pure hydrogen
> and oxygen.
>
> This exhaust was rerouted back to the fuel tank to be used again as
> fuel. Unfortunately, many took this to be a perpetual motion device, and
> dismissed it without any real consideration. It performed beautifully,
> as did their next Hydrogen-Oxygen powered the vehicle, without
> pollution, and did not have the relatively weak power compared with an
> electric vehicle, such as the Fuel Cell type vehicles use. No matter how
> efficient the Fuel Cell, they still use an electric motor.
>
> In the last 20 years, I have seen little change published regarding
> hydrogen power processes. New "electrolysers" are being patented using
> the same old electrolysis processes, using higher pressures &
> temperature, and achieving more efficient electric power with newer,
> expensive electrolytes.
>
> A few novel approaches noted included forcing electron leakage to
> seperate molecules by high voltage, or using "resonant cavities" to
> boost and re-boost the power to achieve the necessary decomposition
> energy for water.
>
> Most of these processes use the same principle of using electrochemical
> energy to decompose the water, taking a long time to do it, and still
> dealing with clumsy storage processes. While these may or may not work
> (the patent attorneys don't care), the processes require constant input
> energy, and also take too long to generate onboard fuel.
>
> There is an ongoing debate that a hydrogen-oxygen engine as a closed
> system could not work because it is a violation of one of the laws of
> thermodynamics - it could not put out more energy than was put into it.
>
> In other words, it would take more energy to split the water into its
> components than it would get out of the hydrogen oxygen combustion.
>
> One needs to step out of the bounds of chemistry to justify this
> self-sustaining chain reaction process. Remember that old concept of
> E=MC squared?
>
> Matter is Energy! Hydrogen and oxygen molecules are energy "packets".
> Water molecules are being used up as energy, which balances an energy
> equation, when the mass=energy is factored in.
>
> A Water-Splitting chain reaction is needed, decomposing water into
> Hydrogen and oxygen to be used as a non-polluting fuel - if not already
> discovered and put away until the fossil fuels are used up.
>
> My first attempt at a web page still under construction describes a
> process to achieve a water-splitting chain reaction.
>
> http://home.pacbell.net/coop88.waterasfuel3.htm
>
> To skip the preliminaries, click on "water splitting" to the red lined
> part. Sorry I haven't completed my sub/sup scripts in the formulas.
> BCNU, Coop
> ----------------------
> >From another inventor who has been working on it since 1968 and achieved
> what I think is major success (8 amps in for hydrogen production, then
> 15 amps out with a generator attached to a lawnmower engine that burns
> the hydrogen with air)..he is working on his own web page with full
> details....he is the closest I know to Dad Garretts success in Dallas in
> 1935.......he says;
> ----------------------
> I use the mixture and run it into the intake with atmospheric air. I
> know this creates some oxides of nitrogen, but so does gasoline and
> nobody seems to give a damn about that, so neither do I!
>
> I have built steam engines powered by hydroxy. I have had the idea to
> use the vacuum-forming capabilities of hydroxy to let the atmosphere
> expand in the cylinders of a rankin-cycle steam engine instead of
> steam--but I have never built the machinery.
>
> If you compress pure hydroxy--it forms water. No good.
>
> If you inject the mixture into a cylinder and then close the intake
> valve and continue to crank for 20 degrees or so--it expands the mixture
> and sort of dries it out.
>
> I detonate at about 20 to 45 degrees past tdc (top dead center of the
> piston stroke) and I get a hell-of-a-blast-power-stroke. Because the
> hydrogen goes off so fast, you don't need to have it "burn" for the
> entire 180 degrees as in a gasoline or diesel engine.
>
> I use the exhaust stroke open for 180 degrees. This sort of makes the
> engine run like a two-stroke--modified.
>
> When you start using water as fuel, you have to sort of throw out the
> rule book. The rules change.
> --
> Jerry W. Decker / jdecker@keelynet.com
> http://keelynet.com / "From an Art to a Science"
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