Can a piston engine run on hydrogen? The answer is yes. Hydrogen can do the work of fuel in the internal combustion engine.
Recently, I converted my petrol generator to use hydrogen instead of fuel.
What I did was to replace my carburettor with another component that has the dual function of a carburettor and hydrogen pump. With such a component, I can use petrol or hydrogen for my small generator.
If you would to read another article on internal combustion engines, then do so.
Let’s go to the details of the main subject.
Can I Use Hydrogen For My Piston Engine
Some believe that it is only petrol and diesel that can be used to fuel an engine, but the answer is no; hydrogen can also be used to fuel an engine.
What is hydrogen? In a short answer, hydrogen is a natural gas, and it is flammable.
In a piston engine, hydrogen can be used to replace petrol and diesel. Both petrol and diesel are flammable substances, and the function of the piston engine is to detonate the compressed air.
So, in their absence, hydrogen can also play a role in detonating compressed air.
The piston travels up and down in the cylinder to serve as a seal that ensures that the engine compression does not escape into the crankcase.
As the piston compresses the air, a flammable substance is needed so that an explosion will take place.
That means that the compressed air is combusted or ignited by a flammable substance, which can be hydrogen or fuel.
Some trucks use hydrogen, and they have pistons that travel in the engine cylinder.
These three items play the same role in the piston engine, and they are petrol, diesel, and hydrogen. Although diesel and petrol have been used for years, now many manufacturers have come up with ideas of using hydrogen in place of diesel and petrol.
As mentioned above, some small generators are now using hydrogen in place of petrol, which is a clear sign that you can run a piston engine on hydrogen.
Since hydrogen can serve the purpose of fuel on a piston engine, it can be used to combust the compressed air.
Can Any Piston Engine Run On Hydrogen
No, not all engines can run on hydrogen. For example, an external combustion engine may not be able to run on hydrogen because the combustion takes place outside the cylinder, not in the cylinder.
The hydrogen can run on a piston engine that uses petrol and diesel. Another engine that can use hydrogen is a hydrogen fuel cell engine.
Such engines are built to run on hydrogen rather than petrol and diesel.
These are the most common engines that can run on hydrogen.
What Type Of Engine Runs On Hydrogen
Two main types of engines can run on hydrogen: hydrogen fuel cells and hydrogen internal combustion engines.
Vehicles that run on hydrogen, a zero-carbon fuel, can run on hydrogen internal combustion engines or hydrogen fuel cells.
In the same manner that gasoline is burned in an engine, hydrogen is burned in hydrogen engines. Internal combustion engines powered by hydrogen (sometimes known as hydrogen ice) are quite similar to conventional spark-ignition engines.
Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCEVs), which generate electricity from hydrogen, are powered by an electric motor, just like an electric automobile.
Can You Convert A Combustion Engine To Run On Hydrogen
The answer is yes; a combustion engine can be converted to run on hydrogen. The conversion can be done with little replacement.
To convert a combustion engine running on hydrogen is easy to do on a petrol engine that uses a carburetor.
As I mentioned earlier, I recently converted a petrol engine into a hydrogen.
All I did is to replace the carburetor. I replaced the carburetor with another component that injects the hydrogen into the engine combustion chamber.
Then I bought 12kg of natural gas. I link the gas to the engine with a hose, but the hose is about 10 yards long so that the gas cylinder will not be too close to the engine.
Can Petrol And Diesel Piston Engine Be Converted To Run On Hydrogen
The answer is yes. However, some modifications are needed to achieve that.
The cylinder cycle of the four-stroke hydrogen internal combustion engine is the same as that of the natural gas internal combustion engine.
Moreover, the parts of hydrogen internal combustion engines and natural gas engines are basically similar, including the cylinder block, crank, cylinder head, ignition system, installation parts, etc.
The parts of the diesel engine and hydrogen internal combustion engine are also partially common, such as the cylinder block, crank and support, flywheel housing, and other installation parts.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Hydrogen As A Fuel In A Piston Engine
First, it’s not very efficient, which means it produces far less power. That is because hydrogen burns much faster than diesel fuel, so it burns out before the piston reaches the bottom of the cylinder.
That reduces the force exerted on the cylinders, which reduces the power of the engine.
Second, a homogeneous mixture of air and hydrogen produces more NOx emissions than diesel. The high pressure and temperature environment inside a diesel engine causes nitrogen to react with oxygen to produce nitrogen oxides (also known as NOx).
But since hydrogen burns faster, it ends up burning at a higher pressure (and therefore a much higher temperature) than regular diesel.
That results in higher levels of nitrogen oxides produced by hydrogen-powered diesel engines.
Final Thought
You must have broadened your knowledge of hydrogen engines. You have learned if a piston engine can run on hydrogen.
You should have learned if all engines can run on hydrogen and the disadvantages of using hydrogen as fuel in engines.
It would help if you also remembered how to convert a piston engine to run on hydrogen. And you will also learn the type of engine that can run on hydrogen.
Before you go, you can watch a video related to the article.