New system retrofits diesel engines to run on 90% hydrogen

[Zeedox]

New system retrofits diesel engines to run on 90% hydrogen

Engineers from UNSW Sydney have successfully converted a diesel engine to run as a hydrogen-diesel hybrid engine—reducing CO2 emissions by more than 85% in the process.

techxplore.com

And in a paper published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Prof. Kook's team show that using their patented hydrogen injection system reduces CO2 emissions to just 90 g/kWh—85.9% below the amount produced by the diesel powered engine.

"This new technology significantly reduces CO2 emissions from existing diesel engines, so it could play a big part in making our carbon footprint much smaller, especially in Australia with all our mining, agriculture and other heavy industries where diesel engines are widely used," says Prof. Kook.

"We have shown that we can take those existing diesel engines and convert them into cleaner engines that burn hydrogen fuel.

"Being able to retrofit diesel engines that are already out there is much quicker than waiting for the development of completely new fuel cell systems that might not be commercially available at a larger scale for at least a decade.

 

[Gomez Adams]

The problem with that is that presently we're using fossil fuels to make the hydrogen, so it saves nothing. Once again, we just keep moving the goal posts and not solving the problem.

Until we go to nuclear power supported by wind and solar across the board, there is no such thing as reducing emissions.

 

[Zeedox]

Then begs the question which process makes better sense energy in/out wise. Reducing diesel pollution by 85% is huge.

 

[Gomez Adams]

Reducing diesel pollution by 85% is huge.

But not when you're pounding out more than that to make it.

We're using natural gas right now to make the hydrogen and it takes TONS of it. That's why hydrogen cars never took off and why they probably never will.

It takes 4.5 cubic meters of methane gas to produce one single kilogram of hydrogen. It's off the hook horrendously bad.