Sunday, November 30, 2008

Hydro Assist Fuel Cell - Do They Really Work?

By Sinclair Sonny

There are many valid reasons to start looking for alternative fuels for your car. There is the looming danger of global warming, and of course, the most pressing as of the moment, the current global economic downturn. It is for these reasons that many people are looking for ways to lower their spending on fuels. While it may take more than just decades to totally eradicate the use of fossil fuels, there are existing technologies today that can help anyone improve the fuel economy of their car and extend mileage per gallon.

Once of the more noteworthy technologies out there is Hydro Assist Fuel Cell (HAFC). HAFC is a combination of tested principles in the tradition of fuel saving technologies. It is available today, not merely available 'years from now' as others might lead you to believe.

One way to describe HAFC is to imagine your car as an electric generator. The generator uses fuel (in our case, petrol) in the engine to create energy. This energy is transported to the drive shaft and then down to the wheels. That is what that makes the car go.

HAFC technology extracts a hydrogen-oxygen mixture from water by ionizing it with electricity from the battery. This hydrogen-oxygen mixture is then added to your fuel before it is burned in the engine, making it burn more easily and powerfully. This energy rich gas (hydrogen-oxygen) is called Brown's gas, and is a proven technology that is used in welding torches and plasma cutters.

This energy rich gas (hydrogen-oxygen) called Brown's gas, mixed with vaporized gasoline enriches the fuel mixture, giving out more energy as it burns. The more efficient the burn the less fuel is needed in the engine, thus improving you vehicles gas mileage.

This system also uses powerful magnets to ionize the gasoline to produce smaller molecules that burn rapidly and cleanly. It is a common mistake that gasoline burns. Gasoline does not burn, however gasoline vapor does. Gasoline is made inert to lessen the chances of it exploding. Before it is burned in the engine, the liquid gas is turned into a fine mist and pumped into the car's combustion chamber. Mist is still mostly liquid. HAFC technology turns it into a gas, and the system breaks it down further to make it burn more. This result in a more explosive mixture, means more power, and less emission, using less fuel. That is the reason why LPG cars that run on Liquefied Petroleum Gas are more popular, economical even.

Some studies have shown that the HAFC system can produce gas savings of a minimum of 50%. This is a dramatic increase in mileage and fuel economy, though it is expected that savings will vary from vehicle to vehicle, and depending on the uses the vehicles sees.

What is amazing about this system is that it will work on all existing gasoline-burning cars. No more converting you car into LPG fuel driven system; and unlike conversions to LPG fuel, there will be no need for modifications, only added components that will not burden the car. It is also compatible with other emerging technologies such as Pre Ignition Catalytic Converter technology, which should be available to you soon.

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