An outlook of hydrogen as an automotive fuel February 23 2026

 

Even though this document was written November 14, 1988, using equipment which was very inefficient in Producing Hydrogen , it still proved the great advantages of using Hydrogen gas in improving the fuel economy and reducing the emissions produced by an internal combustion engine in vehicles and generators.

Hydrogenfuelsystems pty ltd have increased the production rate while reducing the energy consumption enormously since these Scientific reports from 1988 and have proven certified results of improving the fuel economy and reducing the emissions in all engines , new and old.

 Report from T . PETKOV,* T . N . VEZ1RO(]LU~” and J . W. SHEFFIELD$

1. INTRODUCTION

Supplying a certain amount of water to the fuel-air mixture improves the performance of Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) but its use cannot bring about the great energy-ecological benefits achieved by using hydrogen as a fuel or as an additive to fuels of petroleum origin. We look forward to using hydrogen as an ICE fuel for several reasons. While conventional energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas are non-renewable, hydrogen can be coupled to renewable energy sources.

Hydrogen is the lightest element in the universe and was initially identified in the 18th century. Although it does not exist in a free state as a gas in nature, it is one of the most widespread elements and is found in many compounds. Hydrogen is easily obtained by a great number of processes, the simplest of which is water decomposition through electrolysis as a result of which hydrogen and oxygen are obtained in their gaseous states. The fact that hydrogen is an ideal fuel from the point of conservation of the environment is extremely important. The only toxic products of combustion of hydrogen are nitric oxides.

The use of hydrogen as a fuel for internal combustion engines is not novel. As early as the middle of last century, a hydrogen piston engine was designed. During the Second World War while Leningrad was besieged, some ordinary automobile engines were modified to burn hydrogen instead of gasoline (petrol)

The main problems of mass production of hydrogen as a basic fuel are storage as well as organizing a large scale system for the production and distribution of hydrogen. The systems developed for storing hydrogen in the automobile must be compared on an energy density, mass and price basis to the conventional liquid fuel storage tanks. Potentially, gasoline has 900 Wh 1 and while hydrogen has only 3 Wh -1

The maximum range of travel with a single filling of fuel is an important parameter to estimate the relative mass of various fuels for an automobile. In Fig. 1 one can compare the maximum travel range of six systems having equal masses of the fuel systems.

 

The attached document for this report details the use of Hydrogen under the following headings

 

2. HYDROGEN AS A FUEL FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES

3. METAL HYDRIDES AS ACCUMULATORS OFHYDROGEN

4. HYDROGEN SUPPLY TO THE ENGINE

 

And importantly

5. CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS OF AUTOMOBILES WHEN THE ENGINE BURNS WITH HYDROGEN OR WITH SUPPLEMENTARY HYDROGEN TO THE CONVENTIONAL FUELS
6. DEFINING THE CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES AND THEIR ALTERATION WHEN BURNING SUPPLEMENTARY HYDROGEN.

 

Conclusion

With supplementary hydrogen to the gasoline-air mixture the air ratio changes in the range of lambda = 0.88 at maximum load, lambda = 3.02 at small loads and lambda = 5.3 at idle run while when working only with gasoline the change of Z is in the range of lambda. = 0.88 to 1.05. The percentage content of hydrogen is 3% at maximum load and 28% at minimum load, respectively. The content of CO in the exhaust gases in the whole interval of loading is less than that when the engine burning gasoline and at air ratio lambda > 1.4 CO tends to zero.

The total content of CH in the exhaust gases at medium and high loads is lower than that when the engine works with gasoline and is approximately 60%, but at low loads where the fuel mixture is very lean (lambda = 2 to 3), the content of CH is higher with about 25%. The increase of CH in the very lean mixtures is due to the. slow and incomplete combustion of the fuel mixture

The content of NO in the exhaust gases decreases with the increase of the air ratio )~ above 1.t, at lambda  = 2.3 being zero.

The wide range of controlling the content of the fuel mixture leads to a decrease of gasoline consumption in comparison with the operation of the engine only with gasoline, the decrease being 10% at maximum load and 60% at lower loads. The fuel economy of the engine burning supplementary hydrogen grows at the average by 10 to 16% in the whole interval of loading.

For example, if the engine is to work with an effective power of Ne = 20 kW with supplementary hydrogen heat consumption of 244068 kJ h -1 is necessary and without supplementary hydrogen, 288000 kJ h- 1. Hence heat consumption is greater by 18%. Economical work is related to the engine work with air ratio of lambda > 1.1. In the example given lambda = 1.4 and the percentage content of hydrogen in the mixture is 7%.

Figure 43 gives the value to obtain power of 1 kW in an hour. When the engine burns supplementary hydrogen the price is higher at the average by 5 to 10% at high loadings and by about 30 to 50% at low Ioadings.

From the studies carried out it has been established that with supplementary hydrogen to the gasoline-air mixture we can expand the range of combustibility of the fuel-air mixture which helps the work of the engine with a leaner mixture; the total content of CH when the engine works by load and velocity characteristic is lowered at the average by 15 to 64%; the emission of the toxic substances CO and NO is lowered to almost zero at lambda > 1.4 and  lambda > 2.3 respectively; the effective efficiency of the engine is increased at the average by 8-16%; gasoline consumption is lowered by about 10 to 60% according to the engine loading.

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Monday, February 23, 2026