The Water Powered Car

There are a few different type of water powered cars, some rely on metal hydride etc to produce hydrogen however most are based on the electrolytic splitting of water.

The science behind these water powered cars is through electrolysis of the water to produce a mixture of Hydrogen and Oxygen (called oxyhydrogen, HHO or Brown's Gas). This gas is then combusted to produce energy.

The overall process can be represented by the following chemical equations:
2H2O %u2192 2H2 + O2 [Electrolysis step]
2H2 + O2 %u2192 2H2O [Combustion step]

The idea of a water powered car has been around for quite some time and everyone has probably heard rumours in the past. The suprising fact is these rumours are based in truth, a great deal of scientific research into the water powered car and has, despite what you may think, had some success. The fact is designs for water powered engines have been around for 70 years.

The first such car was demonstrated by Charles H. Garrett in 1935, which reportedly ran for several minutes. The car had been partially modified by attaching a new carberettor, which had electrolytic plates attached to the side. As the stream of water laden gasoline was passed through the carborettor the water was electrolysed in to hydrogen and oxygen, which subsequently combusts in the engine to produce power.

The theory has not only been applied to water powered cars but also hybrid cars, which continue to use petrol but use water as a supplement to increase mileage. Around 1970, Yull Brown developed technology which allows cars to burn fuel more efficiently while improving hazardous emissions. In Brown's design, a hydrogen oxygen mixture (so-called "Brown's Gas") is generated by the electrolysis of water, and then fed into the engine through the standard air intake system.

There has recently been a company, Hydrogen Technology Applications, who has patented an electrolyser design. The electrolyser works on the Brown's Gas theory and they have since trademarked the hydrogen oxygen gas produced as "Aquygen". The company claims it was developing an alternative to oxyacetylene welding when they stumbled upon this. Company founder Dennis Klein is now in negotiations with a major US auto manufacturer and also has been contacted be the US government who want to produce Hummers that use his technology.

There are currently on the market many instructional manuals on how to convert your current car to run on water. These guides allow gasoline to be supplemented with water, which is then subject to an electrical field to split the water molecules into Brown's Gas. This gas then increases the octane rating of the fuel stream increasing efficency, promoting complete combustion and reducing emmissions. The fact that it supplements the fuel means that you can reduce your fuel bill by up to half.