Abstract:
The present invention is an apparatus and method for generating hydrogen and oxygen from water for use as a fuel additive to an internal combustion engine, such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. An electrolysis cell is used to generate the hydrogen and oxygen from a water source. A separate water reservoir permits efficient separation of the hydrogen and oxygen from water and direction into the internal combustion engine. A pump increases output efficiency of the electrolytic cell by preventing the buildup of gas bubbles on the electrodes.

Description:
REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims an invention which was disclosed in Provisional Application No. 61/108,062, filed Oct. 24, 2008, entitled “DUAL CYLINDER HYDROGEN GENERATOR”. The benefit under 35 USC §119(e) and Article 8, Patent Cooperation Treaty of the United States provisional application is hereby claimed, and the aforementioned application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not applicable. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0004]    The present invention is directed to a water electrolysis apparatus; and in particular, a water electrolysis apparatus for use in internal combustion engines to increase engine performance by the addition of hydrogen and oxygen generated by water electrolysis to the air-fuel mixture. 
         [0005]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0006]    Internal combustion engines operating with fossil fuels helped build the standard of living we enjoy today. Just a few of the myriad tasks they perform include transporting people and cargo; pumping water, oil, and other liquids, mowing lawns, and generating electricity. But fossil-fueled engines have two major drawbacks. The first is the apparently limited supply of those fuels. The second is the pollution that is produced from the combustion process. Engines burning hydrocarbon fuels generate carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides, sulfur dioxide, and other noxious gases. These products are a result, in part, of imperfect combustion in the engine and the resultant incomplete burning of the fuel. 
         [0007]    Pure hydrogen has long been considered as an alternative fuel source, as it releases almost three times the energy of fossil fuels per pound while producing only water as a combustion product. However, it is an explosive gas that is difficult to store, especially in vehicular applications. Moreover, hydrogen cannot be removed from the ground and refined like fossil fuels. Although it can readily be produced from water, more energy (often derived from fossil fuels) is required to separate hydrogen and oxygen from water than produced in the recombination (combustion) process. 
         [0008]    However, mixing hydrogen and/or oxygen with gasoline or diesel fuel and air has been shown to improve engine efficiency and reduce pollutant emissions. In fact, the addition of hydrogen and/or oxygen as a fuel additive to an internal combustion engine is an art nearly as old as the internal combustion engine itself. Many attempts have been made by various practitioners in the prior art to improve combustion efficiency and reduce emissions through the introduction of hydrogen and/or oxygen to the fuel/air mixture. 
         [0009]    In particular, many attempts have been made in the prior art to use a basic electrolysis reaction of various solutions (water or other chemical compositions containing hydrogen and oxygen) to produce elemental hydrogen and oxygen in gaseous form. As hydrogen is highly flammable, especially in the presence of the oxygen usually also produced during electrolysis, the current state of the art is to electrolyze only enough water to produce just enough hydrogen and/or oxygen gases to achieve the desired results of improved combustion, enhanced fuel economy and reduced emissions. Storage in tanks, as well as accumulation of excess amounts of hydrogen and oxygen gases, is thereby avoided. U.S. Pat. No. 4,111,160 (Talenti) provides a broad overview of prior art attempts and the use of the basic electrolysis reaction to achieve enhanced combustion. 
         [0010]    Since storage or accumulation of hydrogen and oxygen is to be avoided, control of the electrolysis reaction is of key consideration. Producing hydrogen and oxygen only in the amounts immediately necessary avoids the requirement in earlier prior art of venting excess hydrogen and/or oxygen to the atmosphere, which wastes energy and creates additional safety concerns by requiring safe dissipation of these gases in close proximity with heat and ignition sources such as the host internal combustion engine, associated electrical components, or smoking occupants inside the vehicle. 
         [0011]    Efficiency is also a major concern. Significant amounts of electrical energy are required to electrolyze water to produce hydrogen and oxygen. This energy is supplied, in the case of a vehicle, by the vehicle&#39;s alternator and electrical system. Care must be taken not to overload the electrical generation system or cause premature failure of the alternator or other components. Controlling the electrolysis reaction to generate only the volumes of hydrogen and oxygen required to improve combustion contributes to efficiency, but design of the system in general and the electrolysis cells in particular should reflect this goal as well. 
         [0012]    Making the system rugged is an important consideration as well, especially in mobile applications where temperature extremes and vibration are to be expected. A long service life reduces maintenance and maximizes the benefits of fuel economy and emissions reduction. U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,773 (Cunningham et al.) is an example of a design that attempts to take all of these desirable attributes into account. Unfortunately, in this design, the electrical connections to the electrodes in the electrolysis cell are continuously exposed to the electrolyte solution. The positive (anode) and negative (cathode) terminals will eventually corrode, and if one connection or the other fails, the gas production of the cell will fall to a level well below that required to obtain the desired benefits. 
         [0013]    Finally, simple operation is a desired goal. Many commercially-available hydrogen/oxygen cells require frequent adjustments by the user, who must determine, often without proper instrumentation and usually through trial and error, the proper settings to achieve the desired results. U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,434 (De Souza et al.) attempts to achieve this goal through extensive computerization, but the design of the electrolysis cell produces a limited gas output rate that requires multiple cells to achieve a rate sufficient to obtain the desired benefits of increased fuel efficiency and reduced pollutant emissions. 
         [0014]    Nearly all of the electrolysis cells in the prior art referred to above have electrodes in a non-conductive container that does not contribute to the electrolysis reaction. The use of such insulating containers often results in heat buildup that can require extraordinary steps to dissipate the heat that is produced due to driving the electrolysis cell with a higher voltage than required for the electrolysis reaction. In addition, because of the limited electrode area provided in these cells, and because the electrodes must be separated further apart than optimal, large amounts of poisonous and corrosive acids or bases such as potassium hydroxide must be added to the water to enable the electrolysis reaction to proceed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,450,822 (Cunningham) attempts to overcome all of these limitations, but its design is difficult to build and requires insulating materials to be used within the cell, resulting in a reduction of both efficiency and ruggedness. The additional requirement of prolonged exposure to the hot and often corrosive electrolytic fluid would also require the insulating material to be carefully selected and expensive. 
         [0015]    The present invention overcomes the limitations of the prior art by achieving all of the above goals in a simple, straightforward and readily adaptable manner. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0016]    The present invention is a self-contained, automatic system which generates hydrogen and oxygen by the controlled electrolysis of water and feeds these gases into an internal combustion engine. The invention is comprised of a rugged electrolysis cell fabricated in a preferred embodiment completely of stainless steel, itself comprised of two half-cells that when fitted together provide a closed electrolysis chamber with closely-spaced electrodes alternatively charged positive and negative. 
         [0017]    The invention also comprises a separate electrolyte tank, fabricated in a preferred embodiment of coated aluminum, that simultaneously stores excess electrolyte to provide a much longer operating range than the prior art, allows the separation of gaseous hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolyte, provides a small pressure chamber for the temporary storage of hydrogen and oxygen prior to introduction into the host internal combustion engine, and provides a heat sink for dissipating the excess heat that is produced by the electrolysis cell. 
         [0018]    In addition, an electrolyte pump continually circulates the electrolyte between the electrolysis cell and the electrolyte tank, clearing the electrodes of formed bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen to prevent the bubbles from preventing contact of the electrodes with the electrolyte solution. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  shows the components of the electrolysis system and the mechanical, fluid, and electrical connections therebetween. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a side elevation view of the upper (positively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a bottom plan view of the upper (positively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a vertical sectional view of the upper (positively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell along  4 - 4  of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a side elevation view of the bottom (negatively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of the bottom (negatively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a vertical sectional view of the bottom (negatively-charged) half of the electrolysis cell along  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of all the component parts of the electrolysis cell. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the assembled electrolysis cell. 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  is a longitudinal sectional view of the assembled electrolysis cell. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    A preferred embodiment of a hydrogen generator system of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . When the hydrogen generator system shown in  FIG. 1  is activated, preferably when the engine to which the hydrogen generator system is attached is started, current is supplied from current controller  10  to electrolysis cell  11  and from relay  19  to pump  15 . Pump  15  then pumps electrolyte stored in electrolyte tank  13  through hoses  14  and  16  into the lower opening of the electrolysis cell. This forced electrolyte flow dislodges hydrogen and oxygen bubbles forming on the electrodes inside electrolysis cell  11  and pushes them, along with excess electrolyte, through hose  12  back into electrolyte tank  13 . In electrolyte tank  13 , the gas bubbles separate from the electrolyte. The increase in pressure caused by the increased volume of the generated gases naturally forces them from electrolyte tank  13  through hose  17  into engine air intake  18  for mixing with outside air and subsequent introduction, along with hydrocarbon fuel (diesel or gasoline) into the combustion chambers of the host engine. 
         [0030]    The design of current controller  10  is important to the proper operation of the hydrogen generation system. Most modern motor vehicles operate with 12 volt direct current electrical systems. However, the electrolysis of water only requires 1.23 volts. Some of the overvoltage is necessary to force current to flow through the electrolytic fluid, but the remainder of the overvoltage is wasted, being converted to heat. Prior art systems usually limit the average current by pulsing 12 volts direct current into one or more electrolysis cells. More or less average current is provided by changing the duty cycle of the applied pulse, thus turning on the current for a longer period of time. This pulse-width power switching allows varying the average current, but during the period of time the current is switched on, very high current flows, which places a heavy burden on the motor vehicle&#39;s alternator, battery, and electrical system. In addition, the overvoltage is still converted to heat, just at a lower average rate. 
         [0031]    In a preferred embodiment, current controller  10  employs a DC-DC converter such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,493 (Ross). This reduces the input current required from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system by decreasing the output voltage. Such converters are well-known in the electronic arts, and can be designed to provide current (at a lower voltage) limited to a selected design value, such as 40-60 amperes. If the electrolyte concentration is high enough that this current is achieved at a voltage of 6 volts, then only about 20-30 amperes at 12 volts will be required from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. Even lower voltages are possible, with a corresponding decrease in the current required from the vehicle&#39;s electrical system. 
         [0032]    In a preferred embodiment, pump  15  is a readily-available auxiliary coolant pump commonly used in European cars. Bosch part number G3050-12429 is representative of a suitable component for this purpose. When power is applied to current controller  10 , it is also applied to pump  15 , which continuously circulates electrolytic fluid from electrolyte tank  13  into the bottom of electrolysis cell  11 . Pump  15  is constructed of high-temperature plastic to easily handle the hot electrolytic fluid. Operation of pump  15  during electrolysis improves gas production by sweeping insulating bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen from the electrodes. In addition, the temperature of electrolysis cell  11  is reduced by moving electrolyte (heated by overvoltage and power loss occurring in electrolysis cell  11 ) into electrolyte tank  13 , which then dissipates some of the heat from the electrolyte prior to its return to electrolysis cell  11 . 
         [0033]    In a preferred embodiment, electrolysis cell  11  is fabricated entirely of 316L stainless steel, making the cell highly resistant to vibration, extremes in temperature and the corrosive effects of the electrolyte solution. Electrolysis cell  11  is comprised of two parts.  FIG. 2  illustrates the upper portion  20 . Top plate  21  is made of ⅜″ thick stainless steel plate and is 5″ in diameter. Center hole  22 , ⅝″ in diameter and unthreaded, is drilled in the center of top plate  21 .  FIG. 3  is a plan view looking from the bottom toward the top of upper portion  20 . Four stainless steel tubes  25 ,  26 ,  27 , and  28  with outside diameters approximately 1″, 2″, 3″, and 4″, respectively, are concentrically welded to the lower side of top plate  20  around center hole  22 . The wall thicknesses of stainless steel tubes  25 ,  26 ,  27 , and  28  are nominally 0.064″ to strike a balance between cost and service life.  FIG. 4  is a sectional view of upper portion  20 . Each of tubes  25 ,  26 , and  27  and  28  have four half-circle cutouts  33  disposed 90° apart near the point where the tubes are welded to top plate  21  to allow the flow of electrolytic fluid and generated gases during cell operation. Groove or fillet welding may be used to attach tubes  25 ,  26 ,  27 , and  28  to top plate  21 , but Heliarc (TIG) welding is necessary due to the materials used. Threaded rod  29  is welded to the upper side of top plate  21  to facilitate connection of an electrical cable to the positive terminal of current controller  10 . 
         [0034]      FIG. 5  illustrates the lower portion  30  of electrolysis cell  11 . Bottom plate  31  is made of ⅜″ thick stainless steel plate and is 4½″ in diameter. Center hole  32 , ⅝″ in diameter, is drilled in the center of bottom plate  31  and threaded to securely accept a threaded rod when electrolysis cell  11  is completely assembled as described in further detail below.  FIG. 6  is a plan view looking from the top toward the bottom of lower portion  30 . Using the same welding techniques described previously, four stainless steel tubes  35 ,  36 ,  37 , and  38  with outside diameters approximately 1½″, 2½″, 3½″, and 4½″, respectively, are concentrically welded to one side of bottom plate  30  around center hole  31 . Tubes  35 ,  36  and  37  extend for 11⅞″ from bottom plate  31  and are nominally 0.064″ in thickness, while tube  38  extends a full 12″ from bottom plate  31  and is nominally 0.125″ in thickness to facilitate welding of stainless steel ring  34  at the opposite end of tube  38  as discussed below. 
         [0035]      FIG. 7  is a longitudinal sectional view of lower portion  30 . Each of tubes  35 ,  36 , and  37  have four half-circle cutouts  33  disposed 90° apart near the point where the tubes are welded to bottom plate  30  to permit the flow of electrolytic fluid during cell operation. A ¼″ thick,  3 / 8 ″ tall stainless steel ring  34  is welded to the opposite end of tube  38  from its connection point to bottom plate  31  in order to create a sealing surface when assembled with upper portion  20 . Gas fittings  41  and  42  are welded to opposite ends of tube  38  to permit electrolyte and gases to flow into and out of electrolysis cell  11 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 8  is an exploded view of the component parts of electrolysis cell  11 . Upper portion  20  fits into lower portion  30 . Gasket  40 , made from silicone rubber, electrically and mechanically separates top plate  21  from stainless steel ring  33 , also serving to prevent leakage of electrolyte and generated gases. Insulator  23  is inserted into center hole  22 , then rod  24  is inserted through insulator  23  until contact is made with bottom plate  31 . Rod  24 , the bottom portion of which is threaded to match center hole  31 , is then rotated to tightly seal center hole  31 . Upper portion  20  is then secured to lower portion  30  by placing a stainless steel washer  43  on top of insulator  23  and rod  24 , then tightening stainless steel nut  44  to fasten the two portions together. Stainless steel nut  44  also facilitates connection of an electrical cable to the negative terminal of current controller  10 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of the assembled electrolysis cell  11 . Tubes  25 ,  26 ,  27 , and  28  fit inside tubes  35 ,  36 ,  37 , and  38 , respectively. Tubes  25 ,  26 ,  27 , and  28  alternate with rod  24  and tubes  35 ,  36 ,  37 , and  38  to form eight circular chambers  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 ,  56 ,  57 , and  58  containing an anode on one side, a cathode on the other, and electrolytic fluid within. The alternating electrode design maximizes the surface area of the electrodes and therefore the contact of the electrodes with the electrolytic fluid. Fabricating electrolysis cell  11  with an overall length of 12″ results in a total electrode surface area of over 600 square inches, all of which is in continuous contact with the electrolytic fluid. 
         [0038]      FIG. 10  is a longitudinal sectional view of the assembled and operating electrolysis cell. As the electrolytic fluid  59  is forced by the pump through bottom fitting  42  into electrolysis chambers  51 ,  52 ,  53 ,  54 ,  55 ,  56 ,  57  and  58 , it sweeps off bubbles  60  of hydrogen and oxygen that are forming on the electrodes, causing them to be removed from electrolysis cell  11  much more quickly than would occur through the action of gravity alone. The combined electrolytic fluid and bubbles of gas  61  continue to push up through the electrolysis cell and out through top fitting  41 . 
         [0039]    It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.