Because the Hy-Drive’s system reduces exhaust emissions while enhancing fuel efficiency (earlier post), it is well-suited to address underground air quality—a major concern of the mining industry.

Canadian-owned MTI operates four manufacturing facilities producing a wide range of advanced mining equipment including: hydraulic drill jumbos, LHD loaders, dump trucks, shaft drilling jumbos, long hole jumbos, in-the-hole (ITH) drilling rigs, computerized drill rigs, automated ITH drills with rod handlers, rail haulage systems (chutes, rail cars and dump stations), mine locomotives, buckets, bucket lip assemblies, bucket wear parts and low profile crushing plants as well as custom designed equipment for specific underground requirements.

Any product that can help improve the air quality of miners working below the surface offers an incredible advantage from a health and safety perspective. We turned to Hy-Drive because they have an innovative solution for reducing the harmful exhaust emissions that all mining vehicles inherently produce. Their simple retrofit package reduces the emissions as part of the natural combustion process instead of just filtering the exhaust.

—Robert Lipic, President and CEO of MTI

The Hy-Drive system works by injecting small amounts of hydrogen gas, generated via an on-board electrolyzer, into the combustion chamber of a regular internal combustion engine. This creates an enriched air mixture and a more complete and faster burn which results in reduced emissions, improved fuel efficiency and more engine torque.

Company testing indicates an increase in horsepower of up to 6%; an up to 80% reduction of particulate matter; an up to 46% reduction of NO_x emissions; and a reduction of up to 98% of carbon monoxide emissions.

The HGS pulls the power for the electrolyzer from the engine’s standard electrical charging circuit. The resulting hydrogen and oxygen gases are delivered to the engine air intake by a vacuum pump. An electronic process controller varies the energy input to maintain a constant flow of gases, while an electronic safety module ensures safe operation.

The system uses two liters of distilled water every 80 hours of operation. The HGS operates only when the engine is running and produces hydrogen and oxygen on demand; gases are never stored.