Showing posts with label Fuel cell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fuel cell. Show all posts

Alternative Fuel Vehicles - A Review of Hybrid, Hydrogen, Electric, E85, Biodiesel and CNG Vehicles

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Alternative fuel vehicles are automobiles that are powered by fuels other than gasoline. There are many alternatives that are now being used and tested in order to decrease our dependency on fossil fuels. Some examples of alternative fuel vehicles include:

Hybrid - Hybrid vehicles are powered by both a combustion engine and an electric motor. Advanced technologies for hybrids include regenerative braking, assisted power generated by the electric motor, and the process of powering down when idling. Hybrid cars are one of the most popular alternative vehicles on the market today.

Electric - These vehicles use an electric motor and electric controls instead of the internal combustion engine. Some advantages to the electric car include very low maintenance and zero emissions. Electric cars also do not give off as much noise pollution as a normal car. Some disadvantages include limited travel distance before having to recharge and slow acceleration.

Hydrogen - Hydrogen vehicles convert hydrogen to power through either a modified version of the internal combustion engine, currently available on the market today, or via hydrogen fuel cells which are still in development. Some obstacles in the development of hydrogen fuel cells is cost, fragility of the cell itself and poor performance in freezing temperatures.

CNG (Compressed Natural Gas)- CNG vehicles run on compressed natural gas as opposed to gasoline. This kind of car is more environmentally friendly than a gasoline vehicle, and when compared to all the other alternative methods, is the safest. One complaint of CNG vehicle owners is the large fuel tank compared to that of conventional gasoline tanks, which limits trunk space.

Ethanol (e85)- E85 vehicles are powered by ethanol, a fuel made from corn and other natural products. These vehicles release no fossil based carbon dioxide. One disadvantage of this type of fueled car is that it is can be very difficult to start in cold weather. However, there are cold conversion kits on the market today that can eliminate this problem. Some people have simply added a couple gallons of gasoline to the tank prior to the cold season to eliminate the problem as well.

Propane - Propane vehicles are powered by propane fuel instead of gasoline. These vehicles are up to thirty percent less expensive than conventional gasoline vehicles to operate. Propane was approved by the 1990 Clean Air Act as an alternative fuel, and vehicles powered by propane produce thirty to ninety percent less carbon monoxide than gasoline engines.

Biodiesel - Vehicles that are powered by biodiesel are very similar to diesel vehicles in operation except for the fuel itself. Biodiesel vehicles can run on a combination of natural oil and an alcohol such as ethanol or methanol or exclusively on waste vegetable oil, from restaurant fryers or other food industries.

Limited petroleum sources combined with rising gasoline prices and consumer demand will encourage vehicle manufacturers to produce and develop alternative fuel vehicles. These vehicles, in the long run, will reduce transportation costs as well as benefit the environment.
Author Resource:- Please visit alternative fuel vehicles for more information and gas saver tips to increase fuel mileage.
Article From New Ezine Articles
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How Do Fuel Cells Work?

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Fuel Cells are important emerging technologies today and have the potential to successfully replace the currently employed fossil fuels, towards a cleaner, greener, more efficient and more capable source of energy. They have the potential to generate power to run automobiles and hence replace the ubiquitous Internal Combustion engine and also provide for the running of stand-alone and portable power generation units which need mechanical input.

As a principle, Fuel Cells operate just like a battery complete with an anode, a cathode sandwiched between electrolytes along with a catalyst. However, unlike a battery, it does not lose its power and need recharging. As a matter of fact, it produces energy and keeps working until hydrogen is fed to it. It can also b stacked up and the total resulting current can be used to provide for the desired output.

In Operation, Hydrogen is made to pass over one electrode while oxygen is made to pass over the other produced electricity, water and heat in the process.

The Hydrogen gas, after having gone through a successful reform through the fuel-reformer, is fed to the "anode" of the fuel cell, while the oxygen enters through the cathode of the same apparatus. Due to the chemical reaction of the catalyst in the electrolyte, the hydrogen splits into an electron and a proton, both of which travel in different paths to the cathode. While the proton passes through the electrolyte, the electron and a bunch of more of its like pass together, forming an electric current in the process are tapped into for commercial use.

The 'Fuel-Reformer' as mentioned above can be used to extract the Hydrogen gas out of any of its existing forms, say from biogas, methane, and ethanol. Even though this is amongst the most plethoric elements on earth, it never exists as hydrogen itself and is found only as a compound, however once separated, it is the ultimate source of clean energy. There is really no problem finding the fuel for successful operation of the Fuel Cell.

However, problems still exist and apart from the fact there are still concerns about usage of hydrogen as a fuel, the fuel cells are very expensive and we haven't been successful in getting them through the economies of scale and hence lower the costs. Nevertheless, it should not worry us too long, since once upon a time, Ford's Model T was expensive too, while the automobiles today are ubiquitous and taken for granted.

Article Source: http://www.articlenorth.com

Jason Uvios writes about "How Do Fuel Cells Work" to visit: dedicated backup generators, diesel generator and electric generator.

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BMW's Hydrogen Fuel Quest

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Think a hydrogen powered car is a farfetched idea? Think again! BMW is hard at work in their quest to become the first automaker in the world to have a production vehicle available that can run on hydrogen fuel. 2008 looks like the date when the first hydrogen powered BMW could be made available, infrastructure in place or not.

German automaker BMW is on a quest, one that may likely make them the first automaker in the world to produce a fleet of vehicles capable of running on hydrogen fuel. That’s right, BMW is leading the way and if all goes as promised the first hydrogen cell powered production BMW will hit the streets in 2008.

Back around 2000, General Motors announced that they would work toward building a fleet of vehicles that could run on hydrogen power. When that announcement was made few thought that hydrogen technology could be successfully tapped and used in a car. However, if it was to come about, most people thought that it would take at least 20 years to come to pass.

In 2004 BMW announced that they, too, would bring hydrogen powered cars into production. But, the automaker said that they would accomplish this feat much sooner – by 2008! As it stands today it looks as if BMW may be well on the road to meeting their lofty goal as automotive blogs are currently commenting on recently surfaced photographs showing what appears to be a hydrogen powered BMW. Specifically, a V12 powered BMW 7 Series has been spotted being tested in Germany and it was learned that this particular test car also had a working alternate fuel source available, namely hydrogen.

Several things still need to occur before hydrogen fuel cells are a readily accepted and available alternative to the internal combustion engine. These include:

The cost of developing hydrogen fuel cells. Currently, the price of fuel cells is prohibitive but technological advancements are lowering that cost. When the cost drops below that of outfitting a vehicle with an engine, than hydrogen fuel cells will become a viable alternative.

Production and storage concerns. Currently, significant amount of fossil fuels must be used to develop hydrogen cells. In addition, storing hydrogen can be a problem and transmitting the fuel through existing natural gas lines doesn’t look possible given the fuel’s negative interaction with steel. Hydrogen proponents are calling on the U.S. government to authorize “Manhattan Project” type funding to create an all new distribution system across the country. Speculation on the cost of implementing a hydrogen infrastructure is in the hundreds of billions of dollars, perhaps well over one trillion dollars.

Should the day come when hydrogen powered vehicles are produced and some sort of distribution system is created, two big benefits will emerge: American dependency on foreign oil will evaporate and greenhouse gas emissions will drop considerably. These two reasons alone may be enough for BMW, General Motors, and other automakers to continue with hydrogen fuel cell development. Will the government step in to help out? That remains to be seen.

About The Author

Copyright 2006 – Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance automotive writer covering new products and current models. Please visit the Tornado Fuel System:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/shop_brands/tornado.html

page to learn how you can improve your vehicle’s fuel economy. Check out BMW Parts:

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/bmw~rep.html for all of your aftermarket and replacement part needs.
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Run your Car with Water 4 Gas Technology Kit

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Convert Your Car To Burn Water Do It Yourself Hho Gas Car Kit Conversion Browns Gas Water Hybrid

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HHO gas is the latest innovation to increase gas mileage you may have seen it in the news. When you make an HHO fuel cell for you car or truck you will increase power and improve emissions. Your car will be a water hybrid of sorts by using water. An HHO Generator creates HHO gas and is not exactly zero point energy but you can expect to see and increase in gas mileage of 20 - 50%.

HHO gas car kits sell online for hundreds or even thousands of dollars and they are worth every penny! Just think how much fuel savings you would have if per vehicle and if you had a fleet of vehicles the savings could be substantial! If you have a vehicle and you would like to make your own HHO or browns gas kit for your car or truck there is a lot of information available online.

How is HHO gas utilized in a gas or diesel engine. This technology can be used both for gasoline and diesel engines providing to help increase mileage. When you convert your car to burn on water you are converting water to a gas that your engine can use. HHO gas is then inserted before your intake manifolds airflow using your engines vacuum. This gas is then mixed with the gasoline providing better gas mileage.

What is amazing is the process is so simple to convert water to gas. The parts to build this homemade hydrogen generator or hydrogen on demand system are easy to procure and most can be found around the home or shop for under $100 per vehicle or closer to $60 if you price shop online! Just think a hydrogen on demand system that costs you less than two tanks of gasoline when you fill up at the gas pump! What is nice is it requires very little modification to your vehicle and can be removed within minutes without leaving a trace.

If you have seen HHO gas in use on the news than it is no surprise that this technology actually exists. It is making a comeback due to the rising costs of gasoline. If you have been watching this news this same technology has been used also for generating HHO gas for high temperature welding. So HHO gas has more uses other than being a gas supplement to increase mileage.

There are many forums that focus on experimental HHO gas fuel cells or hydrogen cells also using a device called an aqua pulser that can even make the water fuel cell even more efficient. There are even plans and sources for creating a device that varies the frequency of the current introduced into the fuel cell to help the experimenter generate the most HHO gas.

HHO or browns gas technology is an supplemental alternative fuel source that can help you save gas, reduce emissions, increase horsepower while providing a cleaner and quieter engine. Some are even using this technology on their motorcycles, mopeds, motor scooters, even riding lawnmowers and tractors.
About Author Pete Marks :

Enjoying the internet and technology http://www.squidoo.com/increasegasmileageimprovement


Article Source: http://www.BharatBhasha.com
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What a Miracle! Changing Water to Gas

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Using water as gas supplement for vehicles is an emerging technology. People using this kind of system is claiming that they were able to improve their gas mileage almost up to 60%, making them able to save hundreds of dollars within a year on gas alone.

More and more people are getting intrigued by this technology. The main companies selling this system, would include in their package different parts to install on your car to be able to use water on your engine. They would include hydrogen generators or electrolyzers and other car parts. But is this really possible? Can water really be changed into a fuel supplement for gasoline that would enable your vehicle to run smoother?

With the water to gas technology, HHO, also called hydroxy or Brown’s gas is used to supplement its fuel. It doesn’t mean that you would have to put a water hose into your gas tank and use it as fuel. HHO is also called oxyhydrogen and contains a mixture of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). Chemist William Nicholson was the first person to decompose or separate water into its component gasses back in 1800s.

Oxyhydrogen will burn up when brought to its kindling point. Kindling point will be the lowest temperature wherein a substance will spontaneously ignite without the need for a spark or flame. When ignited, oxyhydrogen will convert into water vapour and then will release its energy.

This concept was applied on lights. Oxyhydrogen lamps, like the limelight, is using an oxyhydrogen flame to heat a piece of lime to give light. Another product is the oxyhydrogen torch. This torch is an oxy-gas torch. It burns hydrogen with oxygen. This equipment is used for cutting and welding metals, glass and thermoplastics. The flame begins a short distance from the tip of the torch; if the distance is great enough the torch tip can remain cool. Oxyhydrogen is also claimed to increase the efficiency in automotive engines. One liter of water is said to creat 1860 gallons of oxhydrogen.

So why use the name Brown’s gas for oxyhydrogen? Oxyhydrogen gas produced by a common-ducted electrolyzer has been referred to to as Brown’s Gas. It was named after Yull Brown who received a patent for a series cell common ducted electrolyzer made in 1977 and 1978. Actually, Brown’s gas is not used in his patents, the gas produced has been referred to “ a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen”. Brown's Gas also claims that it can be used for the following applications although further research may be required:

1.Air conditioning and cooling
2. Atmospheric motors
3. Cleansing of smokestack
4. Coal to Oil conversion
5. Curing
6. Deep-sea life support
7. Destruction of toxic wastes
8. Drying of fruit and legumes
9. Fuel Cell
10. Glazing and Kiln operation
11. Graphite production
12. Heating
13. Hydrogen production
14. Mineral separation
15. Nuclear waste decontamination
16. Ore separation
17. Oxygen production
18. Production of hard materials
19. Production of electricity
20. Pure water production
21. Silica conversion
22. Space life support
23. Underwater welding
24. Vacuum systems
25. Water pumps
26. Welding and brazing

There could numerous ways this water to gas technology can be used. Numerous ways that could make our lifestyle more efficient and less costly. But the road to discovery is a very hard road. It took decades before this technology was made available for us. Hopefully, it would take that long too just to be able to prove and provide other ways to use and benefit from this technology.

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