Appendix3.pdf

JUAN AGUERO

Patent Application EP0405919 1st February 1991 Inventor: Juan C. Aguero

WATER-PROPELLED INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE SYSTEM

Please note that this is a re-worded excerpt from this patent application. It describes a method which it is claimed

is capable of operating an internal combustion engine from a mixture of steam and hydrogen gas.

ABSTRACT

This is an energy-transforming system for driving, for instance, an internal combustion engine which uses

hydrogen gas as its fuel. The gas is obtained by electrolysing water on board and is then injected into the

combustion chambers. The electrolysis is carried out in an electrolytic tank 15, energised with electric current

generated by the engine. The hydrogen passes from a reservoir 23, via collector cylinder 29, to carburettor

device 39 . The hydrogen is then fed into the engine together with dry saturated steam and at least part of the

hydrogen may be heated 51 prior to admission. A cooler and more controlled combustion is achieved with the

steam and furthermore relatively lesser amounts of hydrogen are required. This is probably caused by the steam

acting as a temperature moderator during admission and combustion of the hydrogen and additionally expanding

during the expansion stroke.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to energy-converter systems, in particular related to an internal combustion engine

fuelled by hydrogen gas, i.e. wherein the main propellant admitted to the combustion chambers is hydrogen.

More particularly still, the present invention refers to method and means for obtaining hydrogen gas in an efficient

and reasonably economical manner, and for supplying the gas to the combustion chambers under conditions for

controlled ignition and optimum energy conversion. The present invention also refers to means and method for

running an internal-combustion engine system from an available, cheap and non-contaminant hydrogen

containing matter such as water as a fuel supply.

In general, the invention may find application in any system employing internal combustion principles, ranging

from large installations such as electricity works to relatively smaller automobile systems like locomotives, lorries,

motor-cars, ships and motor-boats. In the ensuing description, the invention is generally disclosed for application

in the automotive field, however its adaptation and application in other fields may also be considered to be within

the purview of the present invention.

BACKGROUND

Dwindling natural resources, dangerous contamination levels, increasing prices and unreliable dependence on

other countries are making it increasingly necessary to search an alternative to fossil fuels like oil (hydrocarbons)

and oil derivatives as the primary energy source in automobiles. To date, none of the attempted alternatives

appears to have proved its worth as a substitute for petrol, either because of inherent drawbacks as to

contamination, safety, cost, etc. or because man has not yet been able to find a practical way of applying the

alternative energy forms to domestic motor cars.

For instance, electricity is a good alternative in the ecological sense, both chemically and acoustically, however it

appears to be the least efficient form of energy known, which together with the high cost of manufacture of electric

motors and the severe storage limitations insofar capacity and size have stopped it from coming into the market at

least for the time being. The same is generally true even when solar energy is concerned.

Nuclear power is efficient, available and relatively cheap, but extremely perilous. Synthetic fuels may certainly be

the answer in the future, however it appears that none practical enough have been developed. Use of gases such

as methane or propane, or of alcohol distilled from sugar cane, has also been tried, but for one reason or another

its marketing has been limited to small regions. Methanol for instance is a promising synthetic fuel, but it is

extremely difficult to ignite in cold weather and has a low energy content (about half that of petrol).

The use of hydrogen gas as a substitute for petrol has been experimented lately. The chemistry investigator

Derek P. Gregory is cited as believing that hydrogen is the ideal fuel in not just one sense. Hydrogen combustion

produces steam as its only residue, a decisive advantage over contaminating conventional fuels such as petrol

and coal. Unfortunately, hydrogen hardly exists on earth in its natural free form but only combined in chemical

compounds, from which it must be extracted using complicated, expensive and often hazardous industrial

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processes. In addition, if this obstacle were overcome, it would still be necessary to transport and store the

hydrogen in service stations and moreover find a safe and practical way of loading and storing it in motor vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz for one is experimenting with a vehicle equipped with a special tank for storing hydrogen gas and

means for supplying the gas to the injection system, instead of the conventional petrol tank and circuit, without

however yet achieving a satisfactory degree of safety and cost-efficiency. The use of dry hydrogen gas as a

propellant has heretofore been found to produce a generally uncontrolled ignition, a large temperature excursion

upwards which proved too destructive for the chamber walls. The engine life was limited to less than 10,000 km

(about 6,000 miles).

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the discovery of an energy-converter system to run an internal combustion engine and

particularly is based on the discovery of a method and means for reliably, economically, safely and cleanly fuel an

internal combustion engine with hydrogen, and obtaining the hydrogen in a usable form to this end from a cheap

and plentifully available substance such as water. The hydrogen may be generated in optimum conditions to be

fed into the engine.

According to the invention, hydrogen is obtained on board from a readily available hydrogenous source such as

ionised water which is subjected to electrolysis, from whence the hydrogen is injected in each cylinder of the

engine on the admission stroke. The hydrogen gas is mixed with water vapour (steam at atmospheric

temperature) and surrounding air, and when this mixture is ignited within the combustion chamber, the steam

(vapour) seems to act as a temperature moderator first and then assist in the expansion stroke. Preferably, the

steam is dry saturated steam which, as a moderator, limits the maximum temperature of the combustion, thus

helping to preserve the cylinder, valve and piston elements; and in assisting the expansion, the steam expands

fast to contribute extra pressure on the piston head, increasing the mechanical output power of the engine. In

other words, the inclusion of steam in the hydrogen propellant as suggested by the present invention moderates

the negative effects of hydrogen and enhances the positive effects thereof in the combustion cycle.

As a result of this discovery, the amount of hydrogen required to drive the engine is lower than was heretofore

expected, hence the electrolysis need not produce more than 10 cc/sec (for example, for a 1,400 cc engine). Thus

the amount of electricity required for the electrolysis, a stumbling block in earlier attempts, is lower, so much so,

that on-board hydrogen production is now feasible.

The invention includes an apparatus comprising a first system for generating hydrogen and a second system for

conditioning and supplying the hydrogen to the admission valves on the cylinder caps. The hydrogen-generating

system basically consists of an electrolysis device which receives electrolitically adapted (i.e. at least partially

ionised) water or some other suitable hydrogenous substance. An electric power supply is connected to the

electrodes of the electrolysis device for generating the hydrogen, and the electricity requirements and the device

dimensions are designed for a maximum hydrogen output rate of about 10 cc/sec for a typical automotive

application.

The second system comprises means such as a vacuum pump or the like to draw out the hydrogen from the first

system, means for supplying the hydrogen gas to the admission valves, means for conditioning the moisture

content of the hydrogen, carburettor means or the like for mixing the hydrogen with atmospheric air or some other

combustion enabling substance, and means to control and maintain a specified gas pressure valve or range for

the hydrogen supplied to the mixing means.

The apparatus was tested and worked surprisingly well. It was discovered that this seemed to be the result of the

steam content in the electrolytic hydrogen gas overcoming the pitfalls encountered in the prior art systems which

injected relatively dry gas into the cylinder chambers, or at the most with a relatively small proportion of humidity

coming from the air itself.

In the preferred embodiment, the electrolysis system is driven with a pulsed DC power signal of up to 80 Amps at

between 75 and 100 Volts. The electrolyte is distilled water salted with sodium chloride with a concentration of

about 30 grams of salt per litre of water, to 150 grams of salt in 10 litres of water. Other concentrations are

possible depending on the kind of engine, fuel and electricity consumption etc. The maximum rate of hydrogen

production required for a typical domestic car engine has been estimated at 10 cc/sec. This hydrogen is drawn

out by a pump generating a pressure head of around 2 Kg/cm 2 to feed the generated steam-containing hydrogen

to a receptacle provided with means for removing the undesired excess of moisture from the gas. The gas is thus

mixed with the desired content of steam when it enters the carburettor or mixing device.

In the event that the generated hydrogen does not have enough steam content, dry saturated steam may be

added to the hydrogen as it proceeds to the engine. This may done conveniently, before it enters the carburettor

and is mixed with the intake air. Part of the gas may be shunted via a heat-exchanger serpentine connected to

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the exhaust manifold. This heats some of the gas before it is injected into the base of the carburettor. This

heated gas injection operates like a supercharger. The main unheated hydrogen stream is piped directly into the

venturi system of the carburettor, where it mixes with air drawn in by the admission stroke vacuum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig.1 is a schematic layout of the first and second systems and shows the electrolysis device for obtaining

hydrogen, and the circuit means for injecting the steam-laden hydrogen into the combustion chambers of a car

engine, according to one embodiment of this invention.

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Figure 2 is an elevational view of the electrolysis device of figure 1.

DETAILED ACCOUNT OF AN EMBODIMENT

Fig.1 shows a system 11 for obtaining hydrogen front water piped from a reservoir or tank (not illustrated) to an

inlet 13 of an electrolysis cell 15 . The water is salted by adding sodium chloride to ionise it and enable

electrolysis when electric power is applied to a pair of terminals 17 . As disclosed in more detail later, the power

applied to the terminals 17 is in the form of a DC pulse signal of 65 Amps at 87 Volts, generated via a suitable

converter from, in the event that the present system is applied to an automobile, the standard automotive 12 Volt

DC level. The device 15 has various outlets, one of which is the hydrogen gas outlet 19 which is connected

through a solenoid valve 21 to an accumulator or reservoir cylinder 23 . Other outlets of the electrolysis device 15

are for removing electrolysis effluents such as sodium hydroxide and chlorine gas, to which further reference is

made below.

A vacuum pump 25 or similar, extracts gas from the reservoir 23 and channels it through a hydrogen circuit

system 27 . Thus the reservoir 23 acts as a pressure buffer of a systems interface between the electrolysis device

15 and the pump 25 . The reservoir 23 may be a 2,000 cc capacity, stainless-steel cylinder with the valve 21

metering the passage of gas through it, so that the reservoir is initially filled with about 1,500 cc of hydrogen at

normal pressure and temperature (NPT) conditions. To this end, the cylinder 23 may be provided with a gauge

28V which controls the state of valve 21 electronically. Valve 21 may be a Jefferson Model SPS solenoid valve,

available from OTASI, Santa Rosa 556, Córdoba, Argentina. Vacuum pump 25 is a diaphragm pump with a

pulley drive and it is coupled by means of a transmission belt to the engine's crankshaft output. Such a device 25

may be a Bosch model available in Germany. The pulley drive is decoupled by an electromagnetic clutch when

the pressure read by a gauge 28P screwed into the outlet side of pump 25 exceeds 2Kg/sq. cm.

Pump 25 sends hydrogen through tubing 26 , which also includes a by-pass 24 provided for inspection and safety

purposes together with a two-way valve 28 , and into a second cylinder 29 which contains means 31 which cause

a turbulence or a labyrinthine movement in the gas, in order to condense the heavy mixture, schematically shown

as droplets 32 , present in the gas stream. The condensed mixture collects in the form of distilled water 33 at the

bottom of cylinder 29 . Near the top of the cylinder, there is an outlet 35 through which hydrogen gas, laden with a

good amount of steam, is transported to mixer 37 . Also at the top of collector cylinder 29 , there is a temperature

sensor 38 which is connected to an electronic digital thermometer circuit (not shown).

Mixer 37 comprises a carburettor device 39 for mixing hydrogen with air prior to feeding the mixture to the

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combustion chambers. The hydrogen is piped through a 3/8" diameter tube 41 from dryer cylinder 29 and then

into the venturi section 43 of the carburettor 39 through a pair of 5/16" diameter tubes or hydrogen injecting

nozzles 45 . The venturi section 43 is a section of the intake air passage which narrows to increase the air speed

at the point where hydrogen is drawn out for mixing. The venturi intake 42 may be covered by a mesh 46 .

However, it appears that no air filter is needed for the mixer to operate well. The carburettor device 39 may be a

simplified form of a conventional carburettor, since the propellant, i.e. hydrogen gas, is fed directly to the venturi

43 . A butterfly valve, or the like, connected to an accelerator pedal (not illustrated) of the motor-car, controls the

air intake rate and therefore the speed of the engine. This mixer device 39 is mounted as is a conventional

carburettor, such that its outlet at the bottom communicates with the admission valves in the cylinder caps.

At the bottom part of the carburettor there is a supplementary hydrogen intake 47 connected to another 3/8"

diameter pipe 49 which shunts part of the hydrogen through a heater 51 . This heater comprises a serpentine tube

51 of a chromium/cobalt alloy, mounted in close heat-exchange relationship with the body of the exhaust manifold

50 (schematically illustrated) in order to add a portion of heated gas to the fuel mixture before it is drawn into the

combustion chambers through the corresponding admission valves on the cylinder caps. This pre-admission

heating step, takes the hydrogen mixture to a near critical temperature for detonation. It has been found that this

improves performance (e.g. the engine smoothness) at some speed ranges, and it works like a supercharger.

In practice, the engine of the present invention has shown a high efficiency when using three-electrode sparking

plugs and an electronic ignition system (not illustrated).

Fig.2 shows the electrolysis cell 15 outlined in Fig.1 in more detail. It is comprised of a rectangular prism

reservoir 53 with a pair of spaced-apart vertical electrodes 55 . The reservoir may measure, for instance, 24 cm

long by 20 cm wide and 28 cm high. Both the anode and cathode 55 may each comprise double electrodes of

carbon having a spacing between the electrodes 55 of the same polarity of about 10 cm. Alternatively, the anode

55A may be a ring made of carbon while the cathode 55C is an iron-mesh cylindrical electrode. Each electrode

55 has a terminal 57 at the top for inputting electric power as mentioned earlier. At each outer side of the

electrodes 55 there is a porous membrane 59 made from a sheet of amianto (asbestos) for holding the water

solution 61 in whilst at the same time letting the electrolysis products, i.e. hydrogen and oxygen, pass through.

Thus, the hydrogen gas passes through the membrane 59 into a gas collector chamber 56 and exits out through

pipe 19 to fuel the combustion engine. The hydrogen pipe 19 may have a proportioning valve 62 for regulating

the flow of hydrogen. The oxygen on the other hand may be vented out into the atmosphere through an outlet 63 .

There is a heater element 64, immersed in the salted water 61 fed through a resistor connected to a 12 Volt DC

supply. This heats the water to about 85 degrees C (185 degrees F) to enhance the galvanic action of the

electrolysis current on the aqueous solution 61 . A thermostat with a solid state silicon thermal sensor may be

used to control the water temperature via a threshold comparator driving a relay which controls the current in the

heater element 64 .

The electrolysis of the heated salted water solution 61 further produces, as effluents, chlorine gas (Cl 2 ) and

sodium hydroxide (NaOH). The chlorine gas may be vented through an opening 65 at the top of the reservoir 53

or else stored in an appropriate disposal tank (not shown). The sodium hydroxide precipitates and may be

removed periodically through tap 67 at the bottom of the electrolysis cell.

It is important to note that the practice of the present invention requires practically no modifications in the engine

itself. That is, existing petrol engines may be used with hardly any adjustments. Ignition is initiated at the dead

top of the compression stroke or with a 1.5 degree lag at the most, and it has been found convenient to widen the

gaps of the admission and exhaust valve pushers and use tri-electrode spark plugs. However it is advisable to

use some rust-resistant compound such as plastics for the exhaust pipe and silencer, bearing in mind that the

combustion residue is hot steam.

Fig.1 also shows schematically, the electric power supply 71 connected to the terminals 17 of the cube 15 .

Electrical current is obtained at 12 volt DC from the car battery/alternator system 73 and processed by an inverter

device 75 for generating DC pulses of 65 Amps at 87 Volts. Pulse energisation of the electrolysis appears to

maximise the ratio of hydrogen output rate to electric power input.

CLAIMS

1. A method of providing propellant to an internal combustion engine wherein combustion is fuelled on the basis of

hydrogen gas admitted into at least one combustion chamber of the engine during the intake stroke, characterised

in that the hydrogen is injected into the combustion chamber together with vapour.

2. The method of claim 1, characterised in that the surrounding air enters the combustion chamber, together with

the hydrogen and vapour.

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