Generator may help to increase vehicle fuel efficiency
Hydrogen hopes for EHG technology
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Cars could increase their fuel efficiency by producing their own hydrogen and burning it with normal petrol or diesel.
So believe the backers of Electro Hydrogen Generator (EHG) technology - an idea originally devised by OM Energy, which recently joined Brighton-based Ultra Green in a joint venture to bring the product to market.
Don Smith, Ultra Green design engineer, said the EHG is powered by the heat and gas energy from the vehicle exhaust. The key aspect of the technology is its ability to convert water, which can be contained in a tank in the boot of a car, into hydrogen.
This conversion is done by adding an electrolyte to the water to turn the hydrogen and oxygen molecules into charged ions, which are then separated inside the EHG using centrifugal force and strong magnets.
Smith said: ‘These forces cause the oxygen ions to move to the outside of the EHG, while the hydrogen moves to the inside. An electrical current, generated by the ionic separation, is then used to remove the charge from the ions, turning the hydrogen and oxygen into separate gases.’
The hydrogen is then collected and added to the vehicle’s fuel supply. Smith said the EHG is forecast to generate about 20 per cent of the fuel requirements of the vehicle.
He added that hydrogen will also improve the combustion efficiency of the engine.
He said: ‘Hydrogen burns far more quickly than either gasoline or diesel. When small amounts of hydrogen are mixed with conventional fuel, the flame spreads throughout the combustion chamber far more rapidly. The engine can therefore obtain more miles per gallon from the conventional fuel.’
OM Energy and Ultra Green plan to demonstrate a military vehicle retrofitted with EHG technology later this year. The team then plans to commercialise the technology, under the brand Ultra Green OM, in markets including private and public transport, generators and industrial engines.
Readers' comments (6)
Denis Sharp | 13 Jan 2010 10:39 pm
This sounds like perpetual motion to me. Surely the energy you have to use to separate the oxygen and hydrogen atoms will be greater than that obtained by burning the resulting hydrogen in a heat engine. Admittedly they are using the waste heat from the vehicle's exhaust to run the process but wouldn't it be better to use the energy in the exhaust directly either by expanding it in another cylinder as I believe is already being tried by Ilmor Engineering in their five stroke engine, or by fitting an exhaust turbine geared to the crankshaft as used to be done on the later generations of large piston engines used in aircraft.
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David Winter | 15 Jan 2010 1:57 pm
Another concern would be NOx. The H2 will raise the adiabatic flame temperature of the combustion process and increase the NOx in the exhaust gases - either increasing NOx emission to atmosphere or demanding a bigger, more complex, higher energy consuming cat converter.
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mark softley | 18 Jan 2010 4:42 pm
Not to sure about this one, but as Mr Winter said the NOx levels will go up and the potential for engine damage is higher (burnt valves etc). Another consideration is how the gas will be mixed. The pressurized fuel injection systems of today do not like air bubbles in them let alone bubbles of H2.
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Jack Ryder | 21 Jan 2010 8:19 am
As the future for portable energy storage system will most likely be hydrogen based, any work using hydrogen is to be applauded.
As with any developing technology there will be many blind alleys, but they all contribute to the knowledge pool.
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Doc Brown | 23 Feb 2010 4:12 pm
Their idea sounds fascinating but does the process actually work?
Has an independent reliable laboratory carried out tests with repeatable results?
It sounds similar to all the other bullsh*t 'run your car on water' scams and pseudo-science that often crops up whenever society faces an economic downturn and/or fuel crisis. Throughout history, similar scams have always managed to lure in the gullible or misinformed and to seperate a fool and their money. I hope I'm wrong.
In physics, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Either they've found a new efficient way of extracting hydrogen non-electrically or they've all forgotten their physics and chemistry lectures.
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Pedroski | 16 Jul 2010 0:21 am
Using "waste" heat from the exhaust will lower the exhaust gas temperature (EGT) and therefore reduce the efficiency of the engine. Higher EGT increases speed of exhaust exiting the engine and result in the engine breathing better, thus improving efficiency. Don't know if this was considered in the calculations to predict how well this invention will work! There seems to be some big green investment scam going on.....people investing in companies with no proven product, and relying on tax abatements and tax refunds and getting new investors.
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