Oil Drum Licenses On-Board Hydrogen Generator for Baltic States
03 June 2009
University of Kent (UK) spin-off Oil Drum Ltd, has signed a licensing deal with UAB Hydro2 that will enable its on-board hydrogen generator technology to be manufactured, sold and installed in the Baltic States. The deal will allow UAB Hydro2 to manufacture, sell and install the Save-Fuel On Demand Hydrogen Technology for the truck, bus and coach industries in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
The retrofit device reduces fuel consumption by adding hydrogen, produced by electrolysis, into the engine via the air intake of the vehicle before the combustion process. As a result the engine burns fuel more efficiently and produces less particulate emissions and reduces the vehicle’s environmental impact.
Oil Drum cites a 10% fuel savings as a “good average number” across engine sizes and truck types, but notes that some customers have seen larger savings.
The electrolysis units run at 15 amps from a 24V source, and can produce 4 liters of a hydrogen/oxygen mixture per minute, according to Oil Drum. Central to the technology is the efficient production of hydrogen from the small electrical source.
UAB Hydro2 has opened a production facility in Kaunas, Lithuania, specifically to manufacture the Save-Fuel technology, which independent testing has shown can reduce fuel consumption by more than 10%, and reduce C02 and hydrocarbon emissions.
Tomas Balnys, director of UAB Hydro2, said that the company was also looking at expanding its distribution facility to enable it to supply the devices to another potential licensee whose territories include the Ukraine and Kazakhstan. It is also developing an opportunity in Russia.
Oil Drum had earlier licensed its technology to the Andel Group to exclusively manufacture, sell and install the Save-Fuel hydrogen technology for the UK commercial vehicle market. The devices are now in use on more than 750 vehicles worldwide.
Are the Baltic States that stupid?
Posted by: dursun | 03 June 2009 at 11:45 AM
Dursun Please elaborate
Posted by: JosephT | 03 June 2009 at 11:52 AM
"15 amps from a 24V source, and can produce 4 liters of a hydrogen/oxygen mixture per minute.."
This is about 2% of the energy that the vehicle uses, but it is suppose to get you 10% better mileage. The 360 watts comes from an alternator connected to an engine that is maybe 30% efficient and they want you to believe it get 10% better mileage. It might make the emissions cleaner, but I know of no magic combustion trick that can make for 10% better mileage with an electrolyzer connected to an alternator connected to an engine. It might even get less mileage but be cleaner.
Posted by: SJC | 03 June 2009 at 12:26 PM
The better mileage comes mainly from a better burn, and only for a small part because of the energy content of the hydrogen. Hydrogen ignites extremely fast, even compared to diesel. The burning hydrogen ignites the diesel, so more diesel is combusted before the end of the cycle of the engine.
The energy for H2 production comes from the batteries, so it may (depending on the truck) come from brake-energy only. Then, the improved efficiency is even better.
Posted by: Alain | 03 June 2009 at 01:16 PM
SJC - actually this idea has a long history, over 30 yrs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel_enhancement
Posted by: ai_vin | 03 June 2009 at 02:07 PM
Alchemy has a long history too, that does not mean that rational people believe in it.
Posted by: SJC | 03 June 2009 at 02:24 PM
SJC,
Your understanding of the Diesel engine is a little off. Diesel engine do not inject fuel in the same way that gasoline engines do. Your theroy kind of works with gasoline engine. With diesels injection does not occur on the intake stroke. Injection occurs at 10 to 12 degrees before DTC on the compression stroke and the injection continues until a few degrees before BDC on the power stroke. The reason that injection starts before DTC is so that the fuel has adaquate delay for ignition for the pistion to reach TDC. If the fuel were injected on the intake it would start to ignite on the compression stroke (bad). Once the fuel has ignited (at TDC) the rest of the fuel is injected, burns, expands, and produces power. If your theory is right then hydrogen (injected on the intake with the air as discribed in the story) would work to screw up the timing and cause the fuel (or just the hydrogen) to ignite early on the compression stroke instead of the power stroke which would make fuel actually fight the engine not help it. Not to metion that oxygen consumed on the compression stroke is not there to be consumed on the power stroke. Diesel need a fuel with high cetane rating (ignitability) which is the oposite of octane (resistance to auto-ignition). Diesel engines need fuel that will not resist auto ignition and burn quickly, hydrogen has a octane rating of over 100. I would not put hydrogen in my diesel because it would be like putting high octane gasoline in it. There is a reason that ASTM D975 has a lower limit on Cetain and its not a comspiracy to keep the water-to-gas people down. Its bad for the engine.
Posted by: Brian | 03 June 2009 at 02:58 PM
In the story that you referenced the hydrogen is not being produced on board the out from power from the battery which apparently is not produced from the engine but somehow from the braking. Hydrogen production consumes power. It does not produce it. Sorry, Hydrogen is at best a 60% effecient battery.
Posted by: Brian | 03 June 2009 at 03:01 PM
Brian,
I said nothing about diesels, so don't quote me TDC numbers.
Posted by: SJC | 03 June 2009 at 03:16 PM
Its simple. The car gets around 10% better milage end of story. It doesnt matter how much energy the gizmo eats in the END the car goes 110 miles on the amount of fuel it used to go 100.
Posted by: wintermane2000 | 03 June 2009 at 05:39 PM
He claimed his latest invention, the Hydro-Assist Fuel Cell, could boost automobile gas mileage by as much as 300 percent by injecting hydrogen into the engine's combustion chamber.
But the FTC argued the premise was make-believe.
Posted by: dursun | 03 June 2009 at 07:10 PM
There are at least dozen fuel and air additives which decrease ignition delay of diesel fuel, and aid more complete combustion and less soot, HC, and CO emissions. The best one is ferrocene, quite inexpensive component of rocket fuel. Even simple water injection reduces soot and NOx formation. Hydrogen is one of them.
However, maximum reported in literature fuel efficiency gains are in order of 1-2%, no way 10%. Additives physically can not increase rate of combustion of diesel fuel, because this rate is defined by rate of evaporation and mixing with air from droplets of injected diesel.
Posted by: Andrey Levin | 03 June 2009 at 07:27 PM
Brain - Hydrogen does not fit well into the normal definitions of octane number. It has a very high RON and a low MON, so that it has low knock resistance in practice, due to its low ignition energy (primarily due to its low dissociation energy) and extremely high flame speed. These traits are highly desirable in rocket engines, but undesirable in Otto-cycle engines. However, as a minor blending component (e.g. in a bi-fuel vehicle), hydrogen raises overall knock resistance yet still speeds up the flame front. Flame speed is limited by the rest of the component species. Hydrogen may reduce knock by contributing its high thermal conductivity.
"Research Octane Number (RON)
The most common type of octane rating worldwide is the Research Octane Number (RON). RON is determined by running the fuel in a test engine with a variable compression ratio under controlled conditions, and comparing the results with those for mixtures of iso-octane and n-heptane.
Motor Octane Number (MON)
There is another type of octane rating, called Motor Octane Number (MON), or the aviation lean octane rating, which is a better measure of how the fuel behaves when under load. MON testing uses a similar test engine to that used in RON testing, but with a preheated fuel mixture, a higher engine speed, and variable ignition timing to further stress the fuel's knock resistance. Depending on the composition of the fuel, the MON of a modern gasoline will be about 8 to 10 points lower than the RON. Normally, fuel specifications require both a minimum RON and a minimum MON."
Posted by: ai_vin | 03 June 2009 at 09:32 PM
"Alchemy has a long history too, that does not mean that rational people believe in it."
You didn't even look at the link I gave did you? Check out the references; NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, American Chemical Society, etc. Are they not rational people?
Posted by: ai_vin | 03 June 2009 at 11:26 PM
Thank you all for your comments. Oil Drum Ltd has developed a fuel saving device which has been commercially successful for the past year. The success of our product is due to real life fuel analysis by commercial vehicle operators across the UK and beyond who are using our technology.
We can offer a professional response to those who are interested in our technology, please visit www.save-fuel.co.uk.
Posted by: Phil | 04 June 2009 at 03:58 AM
I looked at the link, I saw no conclusive independent lab data that shows 10% better mileage with engine, alternator, electrolyzer configuration. This is the case with these claims, they say lots of things, but no independent testing nor lab data to validate the claims.
Posted by: SJC | 04 June 2009 at 08:39 AM
"CAN produce fuel efficiency improvements on an OLDER diesel truck [on] the order of 4% and similar modest reductions in emissions..."
From your link. Again a claim but no data. An old engine that probably needs a tune up and is not state of the art. Like I said, slightly cleaner exhaust is more likely. Most of their tests were done on CNG/H2 and not H2/O2, so it is not a good comparison....next!
Posted by: SJC | 04 June 2009 at 08:53 AM
"Thank you all for your comments."
Phil, my comments were not meant for you nor your company. Just post a link where we can see independent lab data backing your claims.
Posted by: SJC | 04 June 2009 at 09:01 AM
oil drum are currently being taken to court for ip theft over this idea, andel DO NOT hold any licence regarding this product , a simple phone call will prove this fact
Posted by: ooops | 04 September 2009 at 03:07 AM