Hydrogen Fuel L.E. Spicer copyright 1991 L.E. Spicer Hydrogen is an abundant fuel and it is simple to make. Above the initial cost of the generating equipment, the hydrogen produced can be free. The only substances used up in making hydrogen are water and electricity. My electricity comes from a wind generator and the water I use is rainwater. By using solar cells, the entire process can be done without one moving part. Hydrogen's Traits I consider hydrogen to be a much safer fuel than gasoline or propane. Hydrogen has a built-in safety factor because it is the lightest element. Upon release it disperses very rapidly, rising straight up, and is lost as soon as it is released. Hydrogen disperses so quickly that a gas welding torch will not light unless the spark is next to the gas outlet. An ordinary acetylene welding torch can be used with hydrogen. The hydrogen flame is clear and to adjust the acetylene flame you will need to look at the glow coming from the metal. In bright daylight the hydrogen oxygen flame of an acetylene torch cannot be seen. Adjustments A few simple adjustments can be made to your propane cooking stove to make it operate on hydrogen. Fill any large venturi cavity with steel wool to prevent a popping noise. Next adjust the jet size, regulate the pressure, and close off all air at the jet. Gasoline engines can also be adjusted to run on hydrogen. I have adapted a propane/air mixer to a gasoline carburetor with success using hydrogen as a fuel. A standby gas generator set adapted to hydrogen would be a good arrangement. A better use of hydrogen that I would like to see, rather than wasting it on a low efficiency gas motor, would be the use of a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. A fuel cell can be used for electricity or to run a vehicle with good efficiency. Storage I store my hydrogen in a 500 gallon propane tank. Propane and hydrogen are compatible in the same tank. In fact, propane can be conserved by bubbling hydrogen into it. Another advantage to putting hydrogen in propane tanks is to add smell to it, and to avoid mixing your hydrogen with oxygen from the air. Propane tanks also have a pressure release valve set at 250 PSI. I have had no problems with storing hydrogen below this pressure. Hydrogen and oxygen must be stored in separate tanks. The only time to combine oxygen or air to hydrogen is at the burn site. Hydrogen and oxygen mixed and ignited is explosive, same as any hydrocarbon fuel. Electrolysis In my electrolyzer cell, the hydrogen evolves off the negative potential; the positive potential releases the oxygen. It is important to maintain the same polarity on an electrolyzer cell. If the polarity is switched your gases will be mixed. I use Nickel on the positive side along with potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte. Nickel electrodes in potassium hydroxide do not electroplate away. Pure water is a non-conductor of electricity. Therefore, a potassium hydroxide electrolyte is necessary. The potassium hydroxide is not used up is the process of electrolysis. I purchase my potassium hydroxide from a chemical warehouse. I use the hydrogen gas for combustion. I use the oxygen gas produced for welding, especially for cutting which uses lots of oxygen. I haven't bought oxygen for my cutting torch since I installed the hydrogen setup. Homemade Electrolytes If you want to make your own electrolyte, it can be made from wood ashes. First, soak your wood ashes for a period of time, depending on how concentrated you want your solution. Remove the clear solution off the top of the wood ashes, then evaporate down to the specific gravity you want your electrolyte to be at. A weak solution works fine, and is not as caustic as a stronger solution. Gas Pressure Hydrogen and oxygen gas will evolve from the electrolyzer under pressure. This can be taken advantage of by using a hydrostatic column to obtain pressure. See the illustration. This one cell electrolyzer along with this simple three foot hydrostatic control will give pressurized storage of both hydrogen and oxygen with no moving parts. The pressure is obtained from the weight of the three foot water column. This is sufficient pressure to displace the water from the bottom 55 gallon barrel to the top barrel. The water in the top barrel in turn puts pressure on the gas. A series of 55 gallon drums can be lined up in this fashion to store larger quantities of gas. INSERTILLO There is no need for gauges as the liquid level can readily be seen through the clear tubing. There are no pop-off valves to be concerned with. After adding the electrolyte to the system only water and electricity are needed for continued operation. A fail-safe feature of this control is that the hydrogen and oxygen go into storage or are vented into the air. Controls & Power Sources I also build a 50 PSI control that operates three electrolysis cells in series which operate at 12 Volts DC and 40 Amperes. My larger control is a 100 PSI control which can handle six or more electrolyzer cells in series. I presently have a six cell unit with a 100 PSI control in my shop. It is powered by a Jacobs wind generator. Each cell requires 4 Volts DC. These are wired in series and operate at 24 Volts DC and will load to 40 amps with each cell delivering 1/2 cubic foot of hydrogen per hour on a windy day. A good power source to drive a one cell electrolyzer is a high amperage six Volt wind generator. Another good source would be a permanent magnet motor driven by water. Access L.E. Spicer, Hydrogen Wind, Inc. RR#2 Box 262, Lineville, Iowa 50147 ù 515-876-5665.