Truckers Choose Hydrogen Power

hipernoico writes to tell us Wired News is reporting that hundreds of semi trucks now on the roads are being partially powered by hydrogen. From the article: "These 18-wheelers make hydrogen as they go, eliminating the need for high-pressure, cryogenic storage tanks or hydrogen filling stations, which, by the way, don't yet exist. These truckers aren't just do-gooders. They like Canadian Hydrogen Energy's Hydrogen Fuel Injection, or HFI, system because it lets them save fuel, get more horsepower and, as a bonus, cause less pollution."

Comments

Boo H2 ...'Termite guts can save the planet'

[ScrewTivo]

http://www.physorg.com/news3700.html

Now that's what I'm talking 'bout

H2 is BS.

Re:Hydrogen Wells?

[Anonymous Coward]

...considering where the hydrogen is produced, this fuel source may not be exactly the "less" polluting alternative as one may think.

I am so f sick and tired of gd SUV wanks and oil company astroturfers trotting this one out everytime someone mentions anything that sounds at all like it's going to challenge rotten dinosaur corpses as the fuel of choice.

RTFA numbnuts! The hydrogen is generated in the engine by the alternator. Despite the vast overhead of this electrolytic separation these guys are still saving 10 grand a year in fuel which easily pays for the simple bolt-on mod within a year or too. The source of the hydrogen is no more polluting than the engine it modifies because it is the engine it modifies.

Then I notice another equally brilliant mind observing the vast additional burden of 8 lb of water on an 80,000 lb truck. Grab a snatch of a clue as it goes over your head, Sparky. By my calcuations, the entire system, water and all weighs less than the fuel it saves every day.

For those who can't be bothered to RTFA and aren't completely offended, the system basically adds a small amount of hydrogen to the diesel. The effect is similar (though the mechanism may not be...IANACE) to adding a squirt of acetone to your gas tank.

Re:How does this help?

[timeOday]

RTA, the hydrogen helps the diesel combust more completely so you get more energy from each gallon. Some of that is lost in the water->hydrogen conversion, and some is a net savings.

My question, though, is why not just produce the hydrogen at a plant and enrich the diesel with it at the refinery?

Re:Additional supplement to the hydrogen?

[Luckster7]

Actually, Methanol/Water Injection on Diesel engines is like NOS on a gasser. The Methanol does make the diesel burn cleaner like the hydrogen in this article, and the water cools the EGTs (Exhaust Gas Temp) enough to keep everything from melting down. Virtually all race cars run on Methanol too.

Hype and hyperbole

[gerardrj]

If you go read the manufacturer's web site they don't claim that the introduction of hydrogen itself will increase the fuel efficiency, but that the hydrogen will clean out the carbon deposits in the engine.
The process will take "from 0 to 9 months" depending on the type of vehicle, amount of build-up, the weather, the speeds driven, the idling time, start/stop driving, etc. Once the engine is cleaned you can see up to "40% increase in fuel efficiency".

We're talking about some insanely small amounts of hydrogen here.

The standard kit holds about 4 liters of water and will run for about 12,000KM. If 2/3 of the water is converted to H and captured for use, that means there's 2,261 liters of hydrogen extracted.

I randomly took a Volvo VE D12 395 engine for specs:
12.13L displacement and 1500RPM suggested cruise RPM, I'll guess 95Km/h is "cruise".

12,000KM / 95KM/H = 124.3 hours
Hydrogen is produced at 18 liters per hour
124.3 hours * 1500RPM = 11,187,000 revolutions
11,187,000 revolutions * 12.13L = 135,698,310 Liters of displaced air/fuel mixture

If my conversions and guesses are close, that means there's .001% hydrogen to air ratio in the cylinders during combustion.

I say scrap the entire thing. Don't hack in to your electrical system and don't carry around the extra weight of the machine and water. If you want to reduce operating costs, increase fuel efficiency and reduce pollution then BURN BIO-DIESEL!! Bio-Diesel has a net zero effect on atmospheric carbon, is low cost (about $.50us/gal to produce yourself), and is a tremendously powerful solvent that cleans engines of deposits like nobody's business.

How It Works

[Anonymous Coward]

The generated hydrogen and oxygen, when injected into the intake, promote the combustion of diesel fuel. So the thermodynamic efficiency of the engine increases nonlinearly.

On the downside, the alternator is now constantly loaded, which is an unusual situation and does require additional power.

Apparently the increase in overall combustion efficiency from the addition of H2 and O2 more than offsets the additional power requirement for the electrolysis. So in the end the engine is more efficient and saves money. Cleaner combustion should also lengthen engine lifespan.

It should be possible to do the same thing easily with most automobile engines. The only problem I see is ensuring that the alternator is not overloaded, which is primarily a function of the electrolysis electrode size.

This should also make automobiles easier to start, something useful in wintertime in high-altitude regions such as California where CARB gasoline is a requirement (and is a poor starting fuel).