GB1561212A

GB1561212A - Internal combustion engine apparatus incorporating a hydrogne generator

Info

Publication number: GB1561212A
Application number: GB1013/77A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1976-01-16
Filing date: 1977-01-11
Publication date: 1980-02-13
Also published as: CA1098482A; JPS52115922A; IT1109452B; DE2700106A1; FR2338394A1; CH596444A5

Description

(54) INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPARATUS INCORPORATING A HYDROGEN GENERATOR (71) I PIER F. TALENTI of Chalet Tatiana, 3963 Crans-sur-Sierre, Switzerland a citizen of the United States of America do hereby declare the invention, for which I pray that a patent may be granted to me, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to an internal combustion engine apparatus supplied with a mixture of hydrogen, air and a hydrocarbon fuel, wherein air, hydrogen and said hydrocarbon fuel are introduced into the intake manifold of said internal combustion engine apparatus.

It is well known in the art to mix hydrogen with a mixture of a petrol or gasoline vapor and of air produced in the carburettors of internal combustion engines, in order to enhance the efficiency of such engines. It is also known that a better and more complete oxidation of the fuel in the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine can be obtained, when said engine is operated with excess air. This has, however, the drawback that, for conventional hydrocarbon fuels, the combustion of weak mixtures, i.e. of mixtures having a proportion of air significantly larger than that corresponding to the stoichiometric fuel/air ratio, may lead to misfiring, uncontrolled combustion and, possibly, breakdown of the engine.On the other hand, even a very weak mixture of hydrogen and air can be easily ignited, and this excellent inflammability is also characteristic of a hydrocarbon fuel/hydrogen/air mixture so that, when such a mixture is ignited by means of a spark plug, the hydrogen burns first and contributes to an optimum combustion of the remaining vaporized fuel.

Thus, it is possible to enlarge the ignition range of the engine and to burn mixtures having a relatively very high proportion of excess air. The temperature of the combustion is thus lower owing to the excess of air and heat losses are reduced. The substantially complete combustion in combination with high compression ratios improves the economy of the engine, reduces the production of harmful exhaust gases and retards the accumulation of soot in the combustion chamber of the engine.

Taking advantage of these known features was hitherto rather difficult, because no appropriate apparatus was available for producing and supplying hydrogen for internal combustion engines in vehicles. Taking along heavy pressure bottles for hydrogen gas is not convenient, because such bottles must be filled up or exchanged quite frequently. In addition, such pressure bottles involve a substantial danger of explosion.

Another possibility, the transport of liquefied hydrogen at low temperatures, is troublesome, expensive and dangerous when used in vehicles.

An important object of the present invention is therefore to provide a process for operating an internal combustion engine with a mixture of hydrogen, air and of a hydrocarbon fuel, which process avoids the drawbacks of prior art systems while keeping their advantages.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for operating an internal combustion engine with a mixture of hydrogen, air and a hydrocarbon fuel, by introducing hydrogen and said hydrocarbon fuel into the air intake manifold of said internal combustion engine, which process comprises producing hydrogen by electrolytic decomposition of water in a hydrogen generator, supplying electric current to said hydrogen generator from an alternator, and causing said hydrogen generator to reduce its hydrogen production rate as a result of increasing pressure therein.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the automatic adjustment of the hydrogen production rate of said hydrogen generator to the needs of the internal combustion engine is carried out by causing hydrogen to be collected in an inner container of said hydrogen generator and to exert a pressure on the electrolyte in such a manner that the level of the electrolyte is related to the pressure of the hydrogen in the inner container of the hydrogen generator, whereby the portion of the cathode plates of the generator dipping into the electrolyte is varied.

Thus it is possible to cause the level of the electrolyte to sink beneath the cathode plates, when the hydrogen pressure in the inner container of the hydrogen generator reaches a predetermined magnitude, whereby the electrical circuit of the hydrogen generator is automatically interrupted and the production of hydrogen in the hydrogen generator may cease.

According to another aspect of the invention, also, there is provided internal combustion engine apparatus comprising an inlet manifold connected to supply means for hydrogen, air and a hydrocarbon fuel, said hydrogen supply means comprising a hydrogen generator operating according to an electrolytic process and arranged to reduce its hydrogen production rate as a result of increased pressure therein and said apparatus further comprising an alternator for supplying current to said hydrogen generator and driven by the internal combustion engine.

The following description of a process and apparatus according to the present invention is given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure I is a schematic view of a motive power plant to be located in a vehicle and comprising an exemplifying embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a sectional view, taken along line II-II of figure 3, of a hydrogen generator of said apparatus of figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view, taken along line III-III of figure 2.

Figure 4 is a wiring diagram of an electric circuit of the apparatus of figure 1.

A motive plant, as schematically shown in figure 1 and to be located in a vehicle, comprises an internal combustion engine 1, an alternator 2 driven by said engine 1 and a hydrogen generator 3. The alternator 2 is a three phase alternating-current generator.

Hydrogen produced in the hydrogen generator 3 is fed via a flow control valve 4 and through a suitable conduit 5 to an inlet opening to an intake manifold 6 of engine 1, which is an explosion or Otto cycle type engine. A conduit 7 is provided to feed petrol to a further inlet opening to manifold 6, this latter opening being disposed down stream of said hydrogen inlet opening to manifold 6. Petrol is fed in a conventional manner from a tank 9 by a pump 10 to a carburettor 8. Excess petrol is caused to flow back to tank 9 via a pressure reducing valve 11.

The hydrogen generator 3 functions according to the conventional electrolytic water decomposition process having the formula H2O/2O2+ H2, the direct current for the electrolysis being supplied from the alternator 2 via an electrical circuit 12 which is further described below. A conventional car battery 13 is provided to excite the alternator 2 in the starting phase of the engine 1 and is otherwise not necessary for the hydrogen production process.

The engine 1 of the vehicle equipped with the drive plant of figure 1 can be operated either with the usual petrol vapour/air mixture or with hydrogen added to this mixture.

Oxygen produced in the course of the electrolysis is exhausted through exhaust opening 29.

Alternatively, oxygen produced in the course of the electrolysis can be collected and, with suitable attention to the risks of explosion, separately fed to engine 1.

The hydrogen generator 3, illustrated in figures 2 and 3, is of completely enclosed design and comprises a metal electrolytic cell housing 15 having an insulating layer 16 on the outside. The cell housing 15 is connected at 17 to a positive current conductor in such a manner that the cell housing 15 functions, together with the electrode plates 18 located within it, as the anode.

An open ended inner plastic container 19 is inserted into the electrolytic cell housing 15 and supports parallel cathode plates 20 which are connected to the negative current conductor 21 which passes through the closed end of the container 19. The cathode plates 20 are of iron and penetrate into the cell housing 15 approximately to 2/3 of its depth. Cell housing 15 is preferably made of non-corrosive steel.

The electrolyte employed is a 20-30% aqueous solution of KOH. To compensate for decomposition, water, e.g. distilled or salt-free water, can be added through opening 22 of cell housing 15. A window, which is not shown in the drawing, is provided on the outside of the cell housing 15 for allowing inspection of the electrolyte level in the cell housing 15. During tests, the hydrogen generator 3 reached its maximum efficiency with an electrolyte comprising 28% KOH, corresponding to a density of about 30 Baume. Owing to the large capacity of the cell housing 15, no drawbacks have been observed when using tap water instead of distilled water to refill the cell housing 15. It is even presumed that simultaneously separated gaseous chlorine and fluorine improve the combustion process.

The anode plates 18 are preferably of iron or of nickel, the main parameters for determining the output of the hydrogen generator 3 being the totality of the area of the electrode surfaces of the cathode and the anode available for the current flow and the distance between the electrode plates.

The hydrogen separated at the cathode plates 20 passes upwardly through an opening 23 in an inclined bottom wall 25 of a lower collecting chamber 24 and subsequently upwardly through an opening 26 in a wall dividing chamber 24 from a further collecting chamber 27 thereabove, from where it passes via pipe 28, forming part of conduit 5, and valve 4 to the engine 1.

As stated above, oxygen separated at the anode plates 18 is exhausted via opening 29 into the atmosphere.

In operation, the suction stroke of engine 1 creates a vacuum or negative pressure in the intake manifold 6 or the carburettor which causes hydrogen to flow via the conduit 5 into manifold 6. Through suitable adjustment of the valve 4 and an appropriate choice of the dimensions of the conduit 5, the flow of hydrogen supplied to the engine 1 can be adapted continuously to match the needs of the latter, a fine adjustment or regulation of the hydrogen production rate occurring automatically in the hydrogen generator 3. In case of over production of hydrogen in the generator 3, a higher hydrogen pressure is created in the gasfilled space 30 of container 19 and in chambers 24 and 27.This pressure lowers the level 31 of the electrolyte which passes through openings 32 in the walls of the container 19 and through openings 33 in the anode plates 18 into the free space 34 which is exposed to atmospheric pressure and which surrounds upper part of anode plates 18, whereby the wetted conductive surface portions of the cathode plates 20 and consequently the hydrogen production rate of the generator 3 are reduced in such a manner that the hydrogen production of the generator 3 and the hydrogen consumption of the engine 1 balance each other out again.

When the conduit 5 is blocked or the valve 4 is closed, the level 31 of the electrolyte sinks to a point beneath the cathode plates 20, thus causing the current flow and the hydrogen production to cease.

Chambers 24 and 27 located in the upper part of the container 19 form preliminary filters for separating fluid droplets mixed with the gaseous hydrogen produced in the generator. The separated fluid flows back again into the cell housing 15 along the inclined bottom wall 25 of the chamber 24.

A further filter 35 is preferably provided in the conduit 5 for preventing corrosive fluids from passing into the engine 1.

Since the alternator 2 is coupled directly to the engine 1, less current and therefore less hydrogen are produced at relatively lower revolution rates of the engine 1, so as to furnish a further automatic control of the hydrogen production rate of the generator 3 in relation to the speed of the engine 1.

The electric circuit 12 is shown in detail in Figure 4. The commercial 12-volt car battery 13 is connected to the alternator 2, which is a three-phase alternating-current generator, for exciting the latter during the starting phase of engine 1. Four parallel resistances of 5.7 Ohm each limit the intensity of the exciting current in the positive conductor. Alternatively, one single resistance may be provided at 36 instead of four parallel resistances. The three-phase alternating-current produced by the alternator 2 is converted to direct current by means of a rectifier set 37 and subsequently fed to the hydrogen generator 3. The rectifier set 37 comprises six diodes having a maximum load capacity of 500 amperes each. A voltmeter 38 for measuring the voltage and an ammeter 39 for measuring the current are connected in the circuit in parallel and in series respectively.

A further rectifier set 40 comprising six diodes having a maximum load capacity of 25 amperes each is provided to produce the exciting current of the alternator 2 after the starting phase of the engine 1, so that in operation the alternator 2 is self-excited independently of the battery 13. The diodes 41 and the diode 42 are provided to prevent the exciting current of alternator 2 from flowing back to the battery 13. These diodes 41, 42 have a maximum load capacity of 50 amperes each. For starting the motive power plant of figure 1, a switch 43 is provided in the positive conductor of the battery 13.

The above described apparatus has been installed in a car and has been tested. The alternator 2 supplied an average output power of 8 KW at 12 - 20 Volt output voltage and 350 - 500 amperes, depending on the revolution rate of engine 1.

By adding hydrogen to the petrol vapor/ air mixture, a saving in petrol of about 50% has been obtained in some of the test runs, owing to the nearly perfect combustion of the fuel in the combustion chamber of the engine cylinders.

The proportion of noxious exhaust gases was surprisingly low and the combustion chamber of the engine 1 was, even after a lengthy operating period, perfectly clean.

The engine worked at relatively low temperature. The exhaust temperatures were measured by appropriate instruments.

The hydrogen generator 3 of the tested motive power plant had a base surface of 80 cm x 15 cm and a height of 35 cm. Given the large capacity of the hydrogen generator 3, no supplementary refrigeration of the electrolyte was necessary.

In future designs of the hydrogen generator 3, which could be substantially more compact and suitable for mass production, means for an automatic water supply and for refrigerating the electrolyte should preferably be provided.

The outer configuration of the generator 3 should preferably be adapted to the space available in the engine compartment of a vehicle to be equipped with the motive power plant described.

Since hydrogen is produced locally in proportion to the varying needs of the engine, and since in case of excess hydrogen the production thereof is automatically stopped, the danger of an explosion is largely eliminated. Since further the free space 34 of the generator 3 is exposed to atmospheric pressure, an explosion of the generator due to excess pressure therewithin cannot occur here either.

WHAT I CLAIM IS: 1. A process for operating an internal combustion engine with a mixture of hydrogen, air and hydrocarbon fuel, by introducing hydrogen and said hydrocarbon fuel into the air intake manifold of said internal combustion engine, which process comprises producing hydrogen by electrolytic decomposition of water in a hydrogen generator, supplying electric current to said hydrogen generator from an alternator driven by said engine, and causing said hydrogen generator to reduce its hydrogen production rate as a result of increasing pressure therein.

2. A process according to claim 1, further comprising causing the hydrogen to be collected in an inner container of said hydrogen generator and to exert a pressure on the electrolyte, so that the level of said electrolyte is related to the pressure of said hydrogen in said inner container of said hydrogen generator, whereby the portion of the cathode plates of the generator dipping into said electrolyte is varied.

3. A process according to claim 2, further comprising causing said level of said electrolyte to sink beneath said cathode plates, when said hydrogen pressure in said inner container reaches a predetermined magnitude, whereby the electrical circuit of said hydrogen generator is automatically interrupted and the production of hydrogen in said hydrogen generator ceases.

4. A process according to any preceding claim further comprising causing the hydrogen produced in said hydrogen generator to flow, before leaving said hydrogen generator, longitudinally through two chambers of said hydrogen generator, said two chambers being disposed at the top of said hydrogen generator, in such a manner that droplets of fluid, mixed with the gaseous hydrogen, are separated from said gas, and causing the fluid separated from said gas to flow back into said hydrogen generator.

5. A process according to any preceding claim wherein the alternator is a three-phase alternating current generator and the process comprises exciting said alternating current generator by means of a battery when starting said engine, said alternating current generator being self-excited when said engine is running, converting the three-phase alternating current produced by said alternating-current generator into direct current by means of a rectifier circuit and feeding said direct current converted from said alternating current to said hydrogen generator.

6. Internal combustion engine apparatus comprising an inlet manifold connected to supply means for hydrogen, air and a hydrocarbon fuel, said hydrogen supply means comprising a hydrogen generator operating according to an electrolytic process and arranged to reduce its hydrogen production rate as a result of increased pressure therein, and said apparatus further comprising an alternator for supplying current to said hydrogen generator and driven by the internal combustion engine.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said hydrogen generator comprises an electrolytic cell housing insulated on the outside, an inner plastic container inserted into said electrolytic cell housing, a first chamber having a sloping bottom and a second chamber for collecting hydrogen being disposed one above the other and in the upper part of said inner plastic container.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein cathode plates are fixedly secured to and depend from the top of said container and are shorter than the height of said container so that, upon variation of the hydrogen pressure in said container, a corresponding variation of the level of the electrolyte in said container is induced, said variation of said electrolyte level causing a corresponding variation of the hydrogen production rate of said hydrogen generator.

9. A process for operating an internal

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. the fuel in the combustion chamber of the engine cylinders. The proportion of noxious exhaust gases was surprisingly low and the combustion chamber of the engine 1 was, even after a lengthy operating period, perfectly clean. The engine worked at relatively low temperature. The exhaust temperatures were measured by appropriate instruments. The hydrogen generator 3 of the tested motive power plant had a base surface of 80 cm x 15 cm and a height of 35 cm. Given the large capacity of the hydrogen generator 3, no supplementary refrigeration of the electrolyte was necessary. In future designs of the hydrogen generator 3, which could be substantially more compact and suitable for mass production, means for an automatic water supply and for refrigerating the electrolyte should preferably be provided. The outer configuration of the generator 3 should preferably be adapted to the space available in the engine compartment of a vehicle to be equipped with the motive power plant described. Since hydrogen is produced locally in proportion to the varying needs of the engine, and since in case of excess hydrogen the production thereof is automatically stopped, the danger of an explosion is largely eliminated. Since further the free space 34 of the generator 3 is exposed to atmospheric pressure, an explosion of the generator due to excess pressure therewithin cannot occur here either. WHAT I CLAIM IS:

1. A process for operating an internal combustion engine with a mixture of hydrogen, air and hydrocarbon fuel, by introducing hydrogen and said hydrocarbon fuel into the air intake manifold of said internal combustion engine, which process comprises producing hydrogen by electrolytic decomposition of water in a hydrogen generator, supplying electric current to said hydrogen generator from an alternator driven by said engine, and causing said hydrogen generator to reduce its hydrogen production rate as a result of increasing pressure therein.

9. A process for operating an internal

combustion engine substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. Apparatus for operating an internal combustion engine substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.