Hydrogen engine - the future of our cars

The problem of fuel resources is one of the most urgent for today, and over time it will only worsen. Petroleum products, among which gasoline - one of the most consumed, not only increase in price with an enviable regularity, but also in the near future promise to become a commodity very scarce. Because it is already clear: the future is for alternative types of fuel. Hydrogen engine - this is the know-how that promises to solve many problems of motorists. And the most pleasant thing is that you can create such an aggregate, which generates energy for the machine from water, on your own, as they say!

By the way, the engine "from water", like many miracles of scientific and technical progress, came to us from the West. "Brown Gas," that is what hydrogen is called, is extracted in the process of electrolysis. In America, for many years there have been and are selling quite basic installations that allow the driver to save almost 50 percent of the fuel. And people who understand the technology and do not forget the school course of physics and chemistry, they collect a hydrogen generator with their own hands.

From theory to practice

The trial hydrogen installation may look like this. Under the hood of the car is installed a small container with water - a container or a vessel. This capacity plays the role of hydrogen fuel cells. The water is ordinary, from the tap. It is filled with a teaspoon of catalyst, soda, then plunged plates of stainless steel - 2-3 pieces. The wires of the plate are connected to the battery. When the ignition is turned on, the process of chemical reaction begins, and the hydrogen engine generates the appropriate gas. A hose with hydrogen is mounted in the duct after the filter.

As in any unit, in our engine it is important to install everything correctly and in the right sequence. When the unit is completed, oxygen and hydrogen are extracted from the water by electrolysis. There is a reaction of splitting of water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The mixture of gases through the intake manifold is drawn into the fuel tank of the machine, there it mixes with gasoline and then burns like ordinary fuel.

What is the benefit of the hydrogen engine, if gasoline is still needed, you ask? Great, even if while your car is not yet running on pure hydrogen. Enrichment of gasoline with oxygen and hydrogen contributes to more complete production of fuel, which at times increases the productivity of the engine. This means that if before, for 100 km, for example, you used 5 liters of gasoline, now they are enough for 130-150 kilometers! Not bad, huh?

And more about the pros

Once upon a time people dreamed of making money from the air, i.e. From "nothing." The hydrogen engine allows from another "nothing" - from the water - to receive fuel. Advantages of hydrogen fuel are:

• High ecological compatibility of the product. The exhaust gases are practically harmless and do not pose a threat to the environment, unlike the exhaust products of burning gasoline or carpenters;
• The heat of combustion of hydrogen is significant even in comparison with gasoline - twenty-eight thousand six hundred and twenty kilocalories per kilogram;
• A mixture of hydrogen and oxygen has a high inflammable capacity under a wide temperature regime. Therefore, regardless of whether the atmospheric air is hot or cold, the car moves equally well;
• Working on hydrogen fuel, the car practically does not detonate, keeping a soft, smooth stroke even at compression within 14,0;
• Hydrogen fuel is highly inflammable at different mixing ratios with air. Therefore, it is possible to regulate the quality of the air-gas mixture formed in the engine, changing the amount of mixed gases supplied (hydrogen and oxygen). If hydrogen (H2) is used, it is possible, for the most part, not to throttle the air flow at the inlet, thereby increasing the temperature efficiency of the engine of the machine under partial load conditions.

Further tasks and prospects

To date, almost all automobile concerns - BMW, Honda, Opel, Ford and others - are engaged in the development of hydrogen engines of various modifications with the prospect of introducing them into batch production and the gradual transition from gasoline to gas fuels. The tasks of a design and technical nature are as follows:

• If we take as a basis the gasoline engine, then it is necessary to increase the working volume of the cylinders;
• In the engine must provide the necessary compression ratio for hydrogen;
• Hydrogen-air mixture ignites very quickly, therefore it is necessary to develop a system to prevent prematureness of this process, especially taking into account the possibility of back flashes or detonation;
• Preventing the formation of nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gases, when atmospheric air is used as an oxidant.

These and other tasks are at the stage of intensive solution, and in the near future most cars will run on hydrogen engines not only home-made, but also factory ones.