If you could run your auto on a fuel that burn so cleanly that itsonly emission were water evaporation , you ’d do it in a heartbeat , right ?
It reverse out that you’re able to . Automakers are developing engineering science that would allow us to usehydrogeninstead ofgasolineto fuel our elevator car . Hydrogen is promptly available and has fewer environmental drawbacks than crude oil - base fuels like gasoline . There are two ways hydrogen - as - automobile - fuel will likely be developed — atomic number 1 - on - need for internal combustionengineapplications and forfuel cellvehicles .
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All atomic number 1 technologies work on the same principle as gasolene to power cars . fuel , like gasoline and hydrogen , contain chemical energy . That energy can be released by creating a chemic reaction . In the case of a gas or hydrogen - powered engine , that chemic reaction iscombustion , or burn the fuel . In a fuel cell vehicle , the hydrogen fuel is merge with oxygen . While the burning in a hydrogen- or gasolene - power engine is exchange into mechanical energy , in a fuel cell vehicle , the chemic energy from the hydrogen and oxygen is converted into electric energy . Of naturally , this is a very simplified version of what ’s in reality going on under the hood . If you ’re not quite sure about the differences between internal burning locomotive and fuel cells , it might be a good idea for you to check outHow Car Engines WorkandHow Fuel Cells Work .
Keep reading to find out if you really can power your motorcar with water .
Hydrogen-on-Demand
H - on - requirement can mean two different things . A hydrogen - on - demand organization can bring home the bacon hydrogen for use by afuel cellor for an internal combustion engine .
A telephone number of party , and single inventor , have claimed to have created aftermarket parts that allow consumer to convert their own vehicles to run onhydrogen - on - need systems . The most common of these aftermarket organization practice a H - on - demand system to create hydrogen as a gasolene additive . This process is also calledhydrogen fuel enhancementorhydrogen injectant . Most hydrogen - on - requirement arrangement produce H by using water supply — which is made up of a single O atom sandwiched between two H speck — and converting it into HHO gas . HHO gas is a admixture of O and H gases . It ’s also call oxyhydrogen , or Brown ’s Gas , after the scientist who first create it .
In most aftermarket hydrogen - on - requirement system , the HHO gas is produce by run anelectrical chargethrough water and another chemical — the type of chemical varies , depending on the arrangement . The electrical charge is generate by the vehicle’sbattery . The summons produce HHO gas , which is then fed into theenginethrough the intake manifold paper where it mixes with the gasoline and is combust in the burning chamber . purportedly , adding the HHO petrol to the gasoline allows it to burn at a lower temperature , increase efficiency and decreasing harmful emissions .
Most company and inventors who make these aftermarket parts identify them as a way to power your car with pee . In truth , it ’s not urine that ’s power the car — it ’s the chemical substance the water is react with — along with thegasolineordieselfuel that you normally put into the fuel army tank . In fact , powering a car with urine would be nearly impossible . Chemical reactions release vigor by altering chemical Julian Bond . The chemical adhesion of water is so stable that to neuter it requires more energy than is win in the chemic chemical reaction . So while these aftermarket organization may increase a gasoline locomotive engine ’s efficiency , the energy required to create the HHO petrol is substantial enough to belie the benefit .
But these aftermarket systems are n’t the only elbow room to introduce hydrogen into a vehicle ’s power industrial plant . Read the next Sir Frederick Handley Page to find out how automakers are make serious function of H .
Hydrogen-powered Cars
As we mentioned in the first place , fuel cell and internal burning engines can be fueled by atomic number 1 . The BMW Hydrogen 7 , for instance , has an intimate combustion engine that can race on both gasoline and hydrogen . One very important differentiation to make here is that the Hydrogen 7 campaign on liquid hydrogen , which must be kept extremely cold . If it is n’t , the hydrogen will turn into a gas , and as a gaseous state , it will not be able-bodied to power theengine . The major modifications involve for run a car on hydrogen go to the fuel tank , not the engine . Keeping all that liquid hydrogen cold requires some serious engineering .
Beyond that is the issue of engine tolerances . Car engines are built to die hard in specific stipulation and with specific fuels . That ’s why putting a lower octane gasoline in your car ’s locomotive can make a modification in carrying out . The motorcar may be able to run for on lower octane fuel , but it ’s not ideal — sort of like how you could survive on a diet of licorice , but not for long . Cars like the BMW Hydrogen 7 have engine that have been build to ply on hydrogen , and sophisticatedcomputer systemsto monitor the engine and make certain it ’s control optimally . Could someone convert their car ’s locomotive engine to run on hydrogen ? Sure . After all , anything is potential — not probable , but potential .
One more factor to consider is that even if you could power your car on hydrogen , where would you get it ? Hydrogen fueling stations are few and far between . In the United States , California is the only state with hydrogen fueling station . It is possible to get a H fueling organization for your family , but these systems solicit into natural gas lines . The natural gas has to be convert into hydrogen fuel for a vehicle .
All things considered , reliable H fuel engineering is still in the work . Hydrogen does promise a luck for a extremely renewable imagination to power vehicles and decrease harmful discharge , yet there are some significant technical hurdle race to jump before it becomes a mainstream fuel rootage . Automakers are in various developmental stage of fuel cell engineering , and hydrogen - power vehicles may be widespread before long ; however , the much less credible " water - powered " cars will probably never come to the salesroom floor .
For more entropy about atomic number 1 , fuel prison cell and other related matter , pursue the golf links on the next page .
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