HydroFuture’s Hydrogen On Demand (HOD) System

By David Packer – CEO HydroFuture

The version 8 HydroZilla uses a unique proprietary reactor called the High Speed Electrolysis Liberation Insulated Reaction, or HSELIR for short. This reactor is both stable and fast with a consistent delivery.  Once the reactors have produced hydrogen and oxygen through liberation, this gas is then delivered to the intake manifold of your engine, where it will greatly accelerate the flame spread during the power stroke of your internal combustion engine, increasing the power output during fuel combustion in the cylinders.  This reaction causes more of the vaporized fossil fuel to combust during the initial part of the power stroke when the explosive force is most effectively utilized.  The HydroZilla system operates only when the engine is turned on, thus eliminating consumer hazards from storage tanks that may explode.  When this hydrogen burns in the combustion cycle, the bi-product is water again. Hydrogen typically ignites 1000 times faster than vaporized liquid fossil fuel. The benefits of the addition of hydrogen and oxygen in an internal combustion engine, including all types of fossil fuel (diesel etc.) have been well researched and documented by both the U.S. Government and many major universities and research facilities worldwide.

Our HydroZilla HOD systems increase engine power significantly, making the liquid fuel burn more cleanly and completely thus reducing your engine’s need for liquid fossil fuel, and reducing exhaust emissions. Emissions Tests will show a major reduction in particulate matter as well as other gases. There can be a marked decrease in exhaust opacity.

Scientific Explanation As Why This Works

By Gordon Hendrickson – Retired NASA engineer and CTO of HydroFuture

The questions I will address is system efficiency, cost of generation, and conservation of energy (first and second law of thermodynamics).

First in any thermodynamics (mechanical) system there are processes energy losses.

This gives a very simple efficiency equation;

From the first law of thermodynamics, the energy output can’t exceed the input, so

At this point we may be asked how are we generating hydrogen/oxygen in an engine then burning it and claiming a 15% increase in efficiency? Does this violate the laws of thermodynamics?

There are three reasons for this increase in efficiency for gas/diesel motors. Improvement in the Carnot cycle efficiency, second increase in combustion efficiency and third the generator to make the hydrogen/oxygen is free or at a very low cost.  I will try to do a quick engineering review as to why HydroFuture know this to be the case.

1. Carnot Efficiency

The second law of thermodynamics puts a fundamental limit on the thermal efficiency of all heat engines. Surprisingly, even an ideal, frictionless engine can’t convert anywhere near 100% of its input heat into work. The limiting factors are the temperature at which the heat enters the engine, and the temperature of the environment into which the engine exhausts its waste heat, measured in an absolute scale, such as the Kelvin or Rankine scale. From Carnot’s theorem, for any engine working between these two temperatures.

This limiting value is called the Carnot cycle efficiency because it is the efficiency of an unattainable, ideal, reversible engine cycle called the Carnot cycle. No device converting heat into mechanical energy, regardless of its construction, can exceed this efficiency.

Examples of  are the temperature of hot steam entering the turbine of a steam power plant, or the temperature at which the fuel burns in an internal combustion engine.   is usually the ambient temperature where the engine is located, or the temperature of a lake or river that waste heat is discharged into. For example, if an automobile engine burns gasoline at a temperature of  and the ambient temperature is  , then its maximum possible efficiency is:

Due to the other causes detailed below, practical engines have efficiencies far below the Carnot limit; for example the average automobile engine is less than 35% efficient and diesel only a little higher. The temperature of combustion of hydrogen is far higher that gas or diesel. By adding a little hydrogen in the combustion cycle will have the effect of rising  . Also the adding of more oxygen will increase the burn temperature of the Carnot cycle. The best example of this is the Russian heavy lift space vehicle which burn diesel and pure oxygen. If this same vehicle used just air it would not have the lift to get off the ground. Note that the BTU’s for diesel is not changed just the efficiency of the burn. A small temperature change of 50 degrees will increase efficiency by at lease 3%.

2.  Increase Combustion Efficiency

The above efficiency formulas are based on simple idealized mathematical models of engines, with no friction and working fluids that obey simple thermodynamic rules called the ideal gas law. Real engines have many departures from ideal behavior that waste energy, reducing actual efficiencies far below the theoretical values given above. Examples are:

• friction of moving parts
• inefficient combustion
• heat loss from the combustion chamber
• departure of the working fluid from the thermodynamic properties of an ideal gas
• aerodynamic drag of air moving through the engine
• energy used by auxiliary equipment like alternators, oil and water pumps
• inefficient compressors and turbines
• imperfect valve timing

Another source of inefficiency is that engines must be optimized for other goals besides efficiency, such as low pollution. The requirements for vehicle engines are particularly stringent: they must be designed for low emissions. The average automobile engine is only about 35% efficient, and must also be kept idling at stoplights, wasting an additional 17% of the energy, resulting in an overall efficiency of 18%.

HydroFuture’s system will affect three of the above, the efficiency of combustion, pollution and emission.  An internal combustion engine, the temperature of the fuel-air mixture in the cylinder is nowhere near its peak temperature as the fuel starts to burn, and only reaches the peak temperature as all the fuel is consumed, so the average temperature at which heat is added is lower, reducing efficiency. Hydrogen has a combustion rate much faster than gas/diesel.  The adding a very small amount of hydrogen/oxygen to the combustion cycle will improve the rate of combustion and increase the efficiency of combustion cycle.  This is common technology gas /diesel has many types of additives that do not change the BTU’s of the fuels, but improves combustion only. By having a higher     and a more complete even burn rate during the combustion cycle both pollution and emissions will be greatly reduced.

3.  Cost of Production of Hydrogen/Oxygen

The electrical power to the HydroFuture generator is supply by an alternator on the engine which is using the hydrogen/oxygen.  Alternators, generators and transformers all have very high thermal efficiency. The running of the alternator on the vehicle is a requirement to supply electrical energy to the vehicle. Therefore the cost associated with supplying our generator will be the added drag on the alternator to supply this power. The added cost of this should be very small and could be zero at times in its duty cycle depending on how much power the vehicle is need and using. At this time we have not done the bench work to quantify how small this is.  We have done an internet search to confirm our position. Presently we have test data that the cost is insignificant as compared to the benefit of our system.

I believe that the above answer the questions on how our system is not breaking any engineering principals, and capable of getting 15% plus increase in efficiency. I would like to point out that the present system is only using a small percentage of the hydrogen/oxygen it can produce. HydroFuture is presently working on a design that will inject directly into the cycler. Our goal by doing this is to increase efficiency another 15-30%.

Carbon Dioxide Could Be A Problem

By David Packer – CEO HydroFuture

The carbon equivalent of 180 million barrels of oil are burned each day to support the Earth’s growing population of 5 billion persons search for prosperity. Carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere has reached levels that are about 30 percent higher than at any time in the last 160 years. Possible Environmental damage and health threats due to air pollution are an increasing concern for our global community. Continued dependence upon fossil fuels will only exasperate this condition.

U.S. Energy expenditures amount to about 440 billion dollars per year. About 50 percent of our energy is produced from foreign oil. U.S. military presence throughout the globe comes at a high price of remote location energy costs. Hydrogen on-demand is a viable means to lower this cost while assisting the world to move toward a new energy technology.

Hydrogen as a Combustion Stimulant

By David Packer – CEO HydroFuture

Hydrogen burns more rapidly than hydrocarbon fuels because it is smaller and enters combustion reactions at a higher velocity, has lower activation energy, and incurs more molecular collisions than heavier molecules. These characteristics make it possible to use mixtures of hydrogen with conventional hydrocarbon fuels such as gasoline, diesel and propane to reduce emissions of unburned hydrocarbons, including Gordon Hendrickson’s explanation above of the thermodynamic occurences. Transition from fossil fuels to renewable hydrogen by use of mixtures of hydrogen in small quantities with conventional fuels offers significant reductions in exhaust emissions. Using hydrogen as a combustion stimulant makes it possible for other fuels to meet future requirements for lower exhaust emissions in California and an increasing number of additional States.

Mixing hydrogen with hydrocarbon fuels provides combustion stimulation by increasing the rate of molecular-cracking processes in which large hydrocarbons are broken into smaller fragments. Expediting production of smaller molecular fragments is beneficial in increasing the surface-to-volume ratio and consequent exposure to oxygen for completion of the combustion process. Relatively small amount of hydrogen can dramatically increase horsepower and reduce emissions of atmospheric pollutants.

Hydrogen/Oxygen On-Demand

By David Packer – CEO HydroFuture

Many people on the Internet may refer to liberating water of it’s hydrogen and oxygen through the use of electricity – Browns Gas HHO gas / watergas / Rhode’s gas / hydrogen oxygen / di-hydroxy / hydroxy / green gas / Klein gas / aquygen / knallgas / Knalgas / oxyhydrogen. During a Brown’s gas mon-atomic hydrogen (H) and mon-atomic oxygen (O) flame, no energy has to be added because the molecules are already in their simplest and highest energy atomic form. This means that “perfect” Brown’s Gas can have 3.8 times the possible “heat” energy that an “ordinary” H2 and O2 flame has (442.4 Kcal/115.7 Kcal). When separating it into its Brown’s Gas state, each liter of water expands into 1866 liters of combustible gas

Brown’s Gas can only be produced in a common ducted electrolyzer. The most efficient common ducted electrolyzer design is a series cell parallel plate. By not separating the product hydrogen and oxygen gasses efficiency is improved; when hydrogen is in the presence of oxygen, immediately after electrolytic production, the formation of diatomic hydrogen and oxygen is preceded by the formation of hydrogen and oxygen molecular structures of increased energy content. The accounts for the increasingly efficient electrolytic reaction observed in series cell common ducted electrolyzers.

Brown’s Gas cannot be stored under the viably high pressures that are necessary for distribution. Brown’s Gas is optimally consumed immediately after production. Considering the latter two parameters Brown’s Gas is inherently an on-demand Hydrogen Fuel that is only produced as needed.

“Hydrogen-on-demand does not need costly infrastructure and makes trucks safer”

Hydrogen-on-demand would not only remove the need for costly hydrogen pipelines and distribution infrastructure, it would also make hydrogen vehicles safer. “The theoretical advantage of on-board generation is that you don’t have to muck about with hydrogen storage”, says Mike Millikin, who monitors developments in alternative fuels for the Green Car Congress website. A car that doesn’t need to carry tanks of flammable, volatile liquid or compressed gas would be much less vulnerable in an accident. “It also potentially offsets the requirements for building up a massive hydrogen production and distribution infrastructure”, Millikin says.
Browns gas definition
Brown’s Gas (noun): Brown’s Gas/ Brown’s-Gas refers to a process discovered by a Bulgarian born Dr. Yule Brown a heavy water physicist where water can be hydrogen/oxygen split up using low voltage causing it to become 66.6 percent hydrogen to 33.3 percent oxygen and then it can be returned back to being water by using the application of low voltage again. Brown’s gas omeday will replace petroleum fuel as a free clean energy source. A discovery that is considered to be a future replacement for petroleum fuels, that can also fuel be used to weld anything to anything and transmute nuclear waste into becoming non nuclear. Will P Wilson, The Discovery of Atomic Chemistry, 1993 based on findings verified by more than forty University Physics Departments submitted by: Will P Wilson from Washington on Nov. 11, 2005.

Hydrogen Injection

Reprinted with the permission of George Vosper, P. Eng. June 1998

Roy E. McAlister, P.E.

President of the American Hydrogen Association

The technology of using hydrogen as a combustion enhancement in internal combustion engines has been researched and proven for many years. The benefits are factual and well documented. Our own utilization of this technology, i.e. the hydrogen injection system, has also been tested and proven both by institutions and in hundreds of practical applications in road vehicles.

Here is a synopsis of a sampling of the research that has been done: In 1974 John Houseman and D.J/Cerini of the Jet Propulsion Lab, California Institute of Technology produced a report for the Society of Automotive Engineers entitled “On-Board Hydrogen for a Partial Hydrogen Injection Internal Combustion Engine”. In 1974 F.W. Hoehn and M.W. Dowy of the Jet Propulsion Lab, prepared a report for the 9th Inter Society Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, entitled “Feasibility Demonstration of a Road Vehicle Fueled with Hydrogen Enriched Gasoline”.

In the early eighties George Vosper P. Eng., ex-professor of Dynamics and Canadian inventor, designed and patented a device to transform internal combustion engines to run on hydrogen. He later affirms: “A small amount of hydrogen added to the air intake of gasoline or diesel engine would enhance the flame velocity and thus permit the engine to operate with leaner air to gasoline or diesel mixture than otherwise possible. The result was far less pollution with more power and better mileage”. In 1955, Wagner, Jamal and Wyszynski, at the Birmingham, of University Engineering, Mechanical and Manufacturing, demonstrated the advantages of “Frictional addition of hydrogen to internal combustion engines by exhaust gas fuel reforming”. The process yielded benefits in improved combustion stability and reduced nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon emissions.

Roy MacAlister, PE of the American Hydrogen Association states the “use of mixtures of hydrogen in small quantities and conventional fuels offers significant reductions in exhaust emissions” and the “Using hydrogen as a combustion stimulant it is possible for other fuels to meet future requirements for lower exhaust emissions in California and in increasing number of additional states. Relatively small amounts of hydrogen can dramatically increase horsepower and reduce exhaust emissions”.

At the HYPOTHESIS Conference, University of Cassino, Italy, June 26-29, 1995, a group of scientist from the University of Birmingham, UK, presented a study about hydrogen as a fraction of the fuel. In the abstract of that study it stated: “Hydrogen, when used as a fractional additive at extreme lean engine operation, yields benefits in improved combustion stability and reduced nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon emissions”.
In the Spring of 1997, at an international conference held by the University of Calgary, a team of scientist representing the Department of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, China, presented a mathematical model for the process of formation and restraint of toxic emissions in hydrogen-gasoline/diesel mixture fueled engines. Using the theory of chemical dynamics of combustion, the group elaborated an explanation of the mechanism of forming toxic emissions in spark ignition engines. The results of their experimental investigation conclude that because of the characteristics of hydrogen, the mixture can rapidly burn in hydrogen-gasoline/diesel mixture fueled engines, thus toxic emissions are restrained. These studies and other research on hydrogen as a fuel supplement generated big efforts in trying to develop practical systems to enhance internal combustion engine performance. A few of them materialized in patented devices that didn’t reach the level of performance, safety or feasibility that would allow them to reach marketing stages.

California Environmental Engineering (CEE) has tested this technology and found reduction on all exhaust emissions. They subsequently stated: “CEE feels that reduction of this test verifies that this technology is a viable source for reducing emissions and fuel consumption on large diesel engines”.

The American Hydrogen Association Test Lab tested this technology and proved that “Emissions test results indicate that a decrease of toxic emissions was realized: Again, zero emissions were observed on CO. Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Vehicle subjected to dynamometer loading in controlled conditions showed drastic reduction of emissions and improved horsepower.

Corrections Canada tested several systems and concluded, “The hydrogen system is a valuable tool in helping Corrections Canada meet the overall Green Plan by: reducing vehicle emissions down to an acceptable level and meeting the stringent emissions standard set out by California and British Colombia; reducing the amount of fuel consumed by increased mileage”. Additionally, their analysis pointed out that this solution is the most cost effective. For their research they granted the C.S.C. Environmental Award.

We also conducted extensive testing in order to prove reliability and determine safety and performance of the components and the entire system. As a result of these test, we achieved important breakthroughs as far as the designs of the components were concerned. We have since increased the hydrogen/oxygen production significantly. This has resulted in increased effectiveness on engine performance.

The results of this test were able to confirm the claims made about this technology: the emissions will be reduced, the horsepower will increase and the fuel consumption will be reduced.

From researching the Internet we also found the following information:
To best describe how Hydrogen Enhanced Combustion works, we are providing this excerpt from a University Technical Report, written by Mr. George Vosper, P.Eng.

…a Hydrogen Generating System (HGS) for trucks or cars has been on the market for some time. Mounted on a vehicle, it feeds small amounts of hydrogen and oxygen into the engine’s air intake. Its makers claim savings in fuel, reduced noxious and greenhouse gasses and increased power. The auto industry is not devoid of hoaxes and as engineers are skeptics by training, it is no surprise that a few of them say the idea won’t work. Such opinions, from engineers can’t be dismissed without explaining why I think these Hydrogen Generating Systems do work and are not just another hoax. The 2nd law of thermodynamics is a likely source of those doubts. Meaning …the law-would lead you to believe that it will certainly take more power to produce the hydrogen than can be regained by burning it in the engine, i.e. the resulting energy balance should be negative. If the aim is to create hydrogen by electrolysis to be burned as fuel, the concept is ridiculous. On the other hand, if hydrogen, shortens the burn time of the main fuel-air mix, putting more pressure on the piston through a longer effective power stroke, and in doing so takes more out of work, then this system does make sense.
Does it work? Independent studies, at different universities, using various fuels, have shown that flame speeds increase when small amounts of hydrogen are added to air-fuel mixes.

A study by California Institute of Technology, at its Jet Propulsion Lab Pasadena, in 1974 concluded:
The J.P.L. concept has unquestionably demonstrated that the addition of small quantities of gaseous hydrogen to the primary gasoline/diesel significantly reduces CO and NOx exhaust emissions while improving engine thermal efficiency.

A recent study at the University of Calgary by G.A. Karim on the effect of adding hydrogen to a methane-fuelled engine says:
… The addition of some hydrogen to the methane, speeds up the rates of initiation and subsequent propagation of flames over the whole combustible mixture range, including for very fast flowing mixtures. This enhancement of flame initiation and subsequent flame propagation reduces the Ignition delay and combustion period in both spark ignition and compression ignition engines, which should lead to improvements in the combustion process and performance.

What happens in combustion chamber is still only a guess. In an earlier explanation I suggested that the extremely rapid flame speed of the added hydrogen oxygen interspersed through the main fuel air fuel mix, gives the whole mix a much faster flame rate. Dr. Brant Peppley, Hydrogen Systems Group, Royal Military College, Kinston, has convinced me that insufficient hydrogen is produced to have much effect by just burning it. He feels that the faster burn is most likely due to the presence of nascent (atomic) hydrogen and nascent oxygen, which initiate a chain reaction. I now completely agree. Electrolysis produces “nascent” hydrogen, and oxygen, which may or may not reach the engine as nascent. It is more probable that high temperature in the combustion chamber breaks down the oxygen and hydrogen molecules into free radicals (i.e. nascent). The chain reaction initiated by those free radicals will cause a simultaneous ignition of all the primary fuel. As it all ignites at once, no flame front can exist and without it there is no pressure wave to create knock.
The results of test at Corrections Canada’s, Bowen Alberta Institution and other independent test reinforce the belief that combustion is significantly accelerated. They found with the HGS on, unburned hydrocarbons, CO and NO, in the exhaust were either eliminated or drastically reduced and at the same R.P.M. the engine produced more torque from less fuel.

Recently I took part in the highway test of a vehicle driven over the same 200-kilometer course, on cruise control, at the same speed, once with the system off and once with it on. A temperature sensor from an accurate pyrometer kit has been inserted directly into the exhaust manifold, to eliminate thermal distortion from the catalytic converter. On average, the exhaust manifold temperature was 65° F lower during the second trip when the hydrogen Generating system was switched on. The fuel consumption with the unit off was 5.13253 km/li. And 7.2481km/li. With it on, giving a mileage increase of 41.2% and a fuel savings attributable to the unit of 29.18%.

From the forgoing, the near absence of carbon monoxide and un-burnt hydrocarbons confirms a very complete and much faster burn. Cooler exhaust temperatures show that more work is taken out during the power stroke. More torque from less fuel at the same R.P.M. verifies that higher pressure from a faster burn, acting through a longer effective power stroke, produces more torque and thus more work from less fuel. The considerable reduction in nitrous oxides (NOx) was a surprise. I had assumed that the extreme temperatures from such a rapid intense burn would produce more NOx. Time plus high temperature are both essential for nitrous oxides to form. As the extreme burn temperatures are of such short duration and temperature through the remainder of the power stroke, will, on average, be much cooler. With this in mind, it is not so surprising that less NOx is produced when the HGS is operating.

Assume a fuel-air mix is so lean as to normally taking the entire power stroke (180°) to complete combustion. Educated estimates suggest the presence of nascent hydrogen and oxygen decreases the burn time of the entire mix by a factor of (10). If a spark advance of 4° were assumed, the burn would be complete at about 14° past top dead center. Such a burn will be both rapid and intense. The piston would have moved less than 2% of its stroke by the end of the burn, allowing over 98% of its travel to extract work. The lower exhaust manifold temperatures observed when Hydrogen Generating System was in use can be viewed as evidence for this occurrence.

Power consumed by this model of the electrolysis cell is about 100 watts. If an alternator efficiency of 60% is assumed, then 0.2233 horsepower will produce enough wattage. Even on a compact car, a unit would use less than ¼% of its engine output, or about what is used by the headlights. The energy regained from burning the hydrogen in the engine is so small that virtually all of the power to the electrolyzer must be considered lost. That loss should not, however, exceed V4%, so that any increase in the engine’s thermal efficiency more than ¼% is a real gain.

An engineering classmate suggested a grass fire as a useful analogy to understand combustion with an engine. The flame front of a grass fire is distinct and its speed depends in part on the closeness of the individual blades. If grass is first sprayed with a small amount of gasoline to initiate combustion, them all blades will ignite almost in unison. In much the same way, small amounts of nascent oxygen and hydrogen present in the fuel-air mix will cause a chain reaction that ignites all the primary fuel molecules simultaneously. Faster more complete burns are the keys to improving efficiency in internal combustion engines. Power gained from the increased thermal efficiency, less the power to the electrolysis unit, is the measure of real gain or loss. It follows from the foregoing paragraph that even a modest gain in thermal efficiency will be greater than the power used by an electrolysis unit. The net result should therefore be positive. Thus onboard electrolysis systems supplying hydrogen and oxygen to internal combustion engines, fueled by diesel, gasoline or propane, should substantially increase efficiencies.

While the auto industry searches for the perfect means of eliminating harmful emissions, consideration should be given to what these systems can do now, since the HG considers reduction of harmful emissions even as the engine ages. Almost all unburned hydrocarbons, CO and NO, are eliminated. Reducing hydrocarbons and CO causes a slight rise in the percentage of CO2 in the exhaust, but less fuel is used, the actual quantity of CO2 produced is reduced by roughly the same ratio as the savings in fuel. In brief, noxious gas is almost eliminated and greenhouse gas is decreased in proportion to the reduction in fuel consumption. Nothing I have learned so far has lessened my belief that the benefits of using electrolysis units to supply hydrogen to most types of internal combustion engines are both real and considerable.