Principles of Hydrogen Fueled Vehicles

It is well known that hydrogen molecules combine with oxygen molecules through combustion to produce heat and water. Hydrogen fuel cells generate electricity by combining liquid hydrogen with oxygen in the air. Hydrogen fuel cells made according to this principle can be used to generate electricity to propel a car, to provide electricity for home or industrial use, or as a cell phone battery. The principle is very simple, but if you analyze it, you will find that the process of refining hydrogen fuel is very complicated and consumes a lot of energy.

Hydrogen internal combustion vehicles are different from hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. A hydrogen internal combustion vehicle is a slightly modified version of a traditional gasoline internal combustion engine vehicle. Hydrogen internal combustion burns hydrogen directly without using other fuels or producing water vapor exhaust. The problem with these vehicles is that they run out of hydrogen fuel quickly. A tank full of hydrogen can only travel a few miles and quickly runs out of energy.

On the other hand, various methods were being investigated to reduce the amount of space used, such as using liquid hydrogen or hydride. 1807 Isaac de Rivas built the first hydrogen internal combustion vehicle. Unfortunately, the design was not very successful. BMW's hydrogen car has more power and is faster than a hydrogen fuel cell car. BMW's hydrogen car set the record for the fastest speed of a hydrogen car at three hundred kilometers per hour. MasterCard has been developing a rotor engine that burns hydrogen. The rotor engine rotates repeatedly, so hydrogen is burned in different parts of the engine through openings, reducing the problem of sudden explosions, which is a problem with hydrogen-fueled piston engines. Japan's Musashi Institute of Technology exhibited a hydrogen-burning sedan using liquid hydrogen tanks at the Eighth World Hydrogen Energy Conference in 1990. It is modified by NISSAN car, using a volume of 100L, total weight of 60kg of liquid hydrogen tanks, can be 100km / h driving, emissions in the exhaust without CO2. China's development of the burning of hydrogen, gasoline mixture of urban energy-saving public **** car for the test. Other important automakers such as General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are investing in slower and weaker but more efficient hydrogen fuel cells.