Water as gas

PaulieK · May 15, 2006

I am totally floored by thi s!

OUMike · May 15, 2006

Ah yea, I think I saw that on tv the other day. That is truely amazing. Wonder what it would cost to convert.

pwall · May 15, 2006

Truly amazing!

Most likely, the major gas companies will buy the patent and then bury it so they don't start loosing the multi-billion $ profit each year.

Shocker · May 15, 2006

I've got a car that runs on water too. Its got a large water reservior above the human compartment and the water flows down to a lower reservior turning a water wheel which turns the wheels of the car. Then I have a gasoline powered pump to move the water back up to the upper reservior.

asilverblazer · May 16, 2006

Sounds pretty hi-tech, got any pics of that contraption?

pm26 · May 16, 2006

The question is how much electric power is consumed for the electrolysis process.

99silveradoz71 · May 16, 2006

Outstanding, I've said that the guy who is able to come up with a vehicle that can run on a fuel which when used was able to be recycled and used again would be a very rich man. Obviously this doesn't seem there yet, but it's sure a step in the right direction.

mmmikkke · May 16, 2006

Sorry guys, it's a matter of basic high school chemistry that the amount of energy you need to break apart water into hydrogen and oxygen is-- go figure--exactly the same amount of energy liberated by the "combustion" of hydrogen and oxygen as you ignite them. So this scheme can never be anything other than a pipe dream.

Wingnut · May 16, 2006

Yeah...That's breaking the first law of thermodynamics.

And sadly, it's crap.

Goodwrench · May 19, 2006

Like P.T Barnum said...

The web site for the HyTech electrolyzer says it draws 17 amps at 220-240 VAC (lets say 230V). It also says it converts 1 gallon of water in 8 hours of operation. This works out to 31.28 kW/gal, or 112,608 kJ/gal in metric.

Water contains 2 hydrogen atoms (1 AMU ea) and 1 oxygen atom (16 AMU), so a molecule of water weighs 18 AMU. Therefore, a molecule of gaseous hydrogen (H2) is 0.111% of the total weight of the water molecule.

The total weight of the hydrogen and oxygen created by electrolyzing water must equal the original weight of the water that was converted. Therefore, from the original gallon of water (3.785 liters) you'll get only 0.421 liters of H2.

H2 has an energy content of 0.01006 MJ/L. With 0.421 liters of H2 you'll have a total of 0.00423 MJ (4.23 kJ) of energy. Since it took 112,608 kJ to convert the gallon of water, you'll lose approximately 112,604 kJ in the process.

We always seem to forget about the 2nd law of thermodynamics: you can't get more energy out of a system than you put in.

BTW, if you tell 'em your car runs on di-hydrogen monoxide, you'll be the talk of the town.