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Design of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine with Fuel Regeneration and
Energy Recovery System
Article · November 2022
DOI: 10.9790/9622-1211205209
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Sameer Rafiq Shah, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 11, November 2022, pp. 205-209
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS
Design of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine with
Fuel Regeneration and Energy Recovery System
Sameer Rafiq Shah1, Eshan Dhar2, Aayoush Sharma3
1
Mechanical Design Engineer, Medsix, Bangalore, INDIA
2
Chief Technology Officer, Gyrodrive Machineries, Bangalore, INDIA
3
Research Assistant, Sir M. Visvesvaraya Institute of Technology, Bangalore, INDIA
ABSTRACT
To meet the demands of depleting fuel and prevent environmental pollution, an IC engine is designed where
Hydrogen is chosen as fuel which undergoes combustion with oxygen and does not emit harmful by-products. It
is a clean fuel since its final product is water. This innovative concept involves use of hydrogen as the fuel in IC
engine without using a very expensive and bulky hold-up tank for storing liquid hydrogen. A water tank is used
as the origin of the hydrogen. A pair of electrodes will be used inside the tank with more area exposing the
surface for ionizing the water and generating the oxygen and hydrogen as fast as possible. The mixed gas with
oxygen and hydrogen will be directed to the engine with a sealed pipe. The engine will work analogously to a
normal gasoline engine with 4 strokes, intake, compress, combustion, and emission. The exception is that the
emitted gas is vaporized H2O. The emitted vapor will not be released into the air. Instead, it will be collected and
recycled to water tank after it is cooled down. The electricity to ionize the water is calculated as per unit volume
of gases per unit time is required for combustion. The electrical energy is the ultimate source of the energy for
powering up this system. The battery can be recharged with the power generated from different energy recovery
systems including a thermoelectric ceramic covering around the engine, so as to improve the efficiency of the
entire system and also by use of regenerative braking system. The advantage of this solution against the Electric
Vehicle is no high voltage battery is required and for ionizing the water low voltage source is sufficient.
Keywords – Energy Recovery System, Fuel Regeneration, Hydrogen IC Engine.
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Date of Submission: 12-11-2022 Date of Acceptance: 26-11-2022
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internal combustion engines without using a bulky
I. INTRODUCTION hydrogen storage tank for storing liquid hydrogen.
Due to extreme air pollution and damage to
wildlife and human life forms, there was a need to II. DEVELOPMENTS IN HYDROGEN
replace and reduce the use of gasoline and diesel- IC ENGINE
powered IC engines with a much better 2.1 History
environmentally friendly and economically feasible
alternate fuels. Recent advancements in the field of Francois Isaac de Rivaz designed in 1806 the De
alternative have led to development of Nitrogen Rivaz engine, the first internal combustion engine,
based compounds particularly Ammonia with certain which ran on a hydrogen/oxygen mixture. Étienne
additives to use it as an alternative fuel. Also Lenoir produced the Hippomobile in 1863. Paul
advanced research is being carried out to use Dieges patented in 1970 a modification to internal
Hydrogen as an alternative fuel in IC engines due to combustion engines which allowed a gasoline-
its ability to undergo combustion and it does not powered engine to run on hydrogen [1].
produce and harmful toxic gases. Its combustion
yields water, hence, it is categorized as a clean fuel. Mazda has developed Wankel engines that burn
The hydrogen internal combustion engine is hydrogen. The advantage of using ICE (internal
simply a modified version of the traditional combustion engine) such as wankel and piston
gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. This engines is that the cost of retooling for production is
paper deals with the use of hydrogen as a fuel in much lower [2]. Existing-technology ICE can still be
used to solve those problems where fuel cells are not
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Sameer Rafiq Shah, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 11, November 2022, pp. 205-209
a viable solution yet, for example in cold-weather hydrogen can be combusted in an internal
applications. combustion engine over a wide range of fuel-air
mixtures. A significant advantage of this is that
Between 2005-2007, BMW tested a luxury car hydrogen can run on a lean mixture.
named the BMW Hydrogen 7, powered by a
hydrogen ICE, which achieved 301 km/h (187 mph) 3.2 Low ignition energy
in tests. At least two of these concepts have been
manufactured. Hydrogen has very low ignition energy. The amount
of energy needed to ignite hydrogen is about one
2.2 Hydrogen Fuel Enhancement order of magnitude less than that required for
gasoline [4]. This enables hydrogen engines to ignite
The Hydrogen fuel enhancement is the process of lean mixtures and ensures prompt ignition.
using a mixture of hydrogen and conventional
hydrocarbon fuel in an internal combustion engine, 3.3 Small quenching distance
typically in a car or truck, to improve fuel economy,
power output, emissions, or a combination thereof. Hydrogen has a small quenching distance, smaller
Methods include hydrogen produced through than gasoline. Consequently, hydrogen flames travel
electrolysis, storing hydrogen on the vehicle as a closer to the cylinder wall than other fuels before
second fuel, or reforming conventional fuel into they extinguish [5]. Thus, it is more difficult to
hydrogen with a catalyst. quench a hydrogen flame than a gasoline flame.
3.4 High auto ignition temperature
III. MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED IN
EXISTING IC ENGINES Hydrogen has a relatively high auto ignition
The differences between a hydrogen ICE and a temperature. This has important implications when a
traditional gasoline engine include hardened valves hydrogen-air mixture is compressed. In fact, the auto
and valve seats, stronger connecting rods, non- ignition temperature is an important factor in
platinum tipped spark plugs, a higher voltage determining what compression ratio an engine can
ignition coil, fuel injectors designed for a gas instead use, since the temperature rise during compression is
of a liquid, larger crankshaft damper, stronger head related to the compression ratio [6]. The temperature
gasket material, modified (for supercharger) intake rise is shown by the equation:
manifold, positive pressure supercharger, and a high
temperature engine oil [3]. All modifications would T2 = T1 (V1/V2) γ-1 (1)
amount to about one point five times (1.5) the
current cost of a gasoline engine. These hydrogen Where: V1/V2 = the compression ratio
engines burn fuel in the same manner that gasoline
T1 = absolute initial temperature
engines do.
T2 = absolute final temperature
The power output of a direct injected hydrogen
engine vehicle is 20% more than for a gasoline γ = ratio of specific heats
engine vehicle and 42% more than a hydrogen
engine vehicle using a carburetor. 3.5 High flame speed at stoichiometric ratios
3. COMBUSTION PROPERTIES OF Hydrogen has very low ignition energy. The amount
HYDROGEN of energy needed to ignite hydrogen is about one
order of magnitude less than that required for
The Combustive properties of hydrogen are as
gasoline [4]. This enables hydrogen engines to ignite
follows:
lean mixtures and ensures prompt ignition.
3.1 Wide range of flammability
Hydrogen has a wide flammability range in
comparison with all other fuels. As a result,
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Sameer Rafiq Shah, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 11, November 2022, pp. 205-209
3.6 High diffusivity From the above cases it was observed that Gaseous
Hydrogen Injection setup produced the highest
Hydrogen has very high diffusivity. This ability to amount of energy which has a similar design to the
disperse in air is considerably greater than gasoline existing Fuel injection systems used in gasoline IC
and is advantageous for two main reasons. Firstly, it engines. This setup of Hydrogen IC engine requires
facilitates the formation of a uniform mixture of fuel tough components which can bear the enormous
and air [8]. Secondly, if a hydrogen leak develops, force produced during combustion of Hydrogen.
the hydrogen disperses rapidly. Thus, unsafe
conditions can either be avoided or minimized. The following table shows the Comparison of fuel
economy expressed in MPG for hydrogen fuel cell
3.7 Very low density vehicles available for leasing in California and rated
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as of
Hydrogen has very low density. This results in two
August 2015 [11].
problems when used in an internal combustion
engine. Firstly, a very large volume is necessary to Vehicle Model Combin City fuel Highway Range Annual
year edfuel economy economy fuel
store enough hydrogen to give a vehicle an adequate economy cost
driving range [9]. Secondly, the energy density of a (mpg) (mpg) (mpg) (Miles (USD)
Toyota 2016 66 mpg 66 mpg 66 mpg 312 1250
hydrogen-air mixture, and hence the power output, is Mirai
Honda 2014 59 mpg 58 mpg 60 mpg 231 NA
reduced. FCXClarity
Hyundai 2013 50 mpg 49 mpg 51 mpg 265 1700
Tucson
4. ENERGY COMPARISON AND FUEL Fuel Cell
EFFICIENCY
Table -1: Comparison of different vehicles and its
The following diagram shows the Combustion
fuel consumption.
chamber volumetric and energy comparison for
Gasoline and Hydrogen Fueled Engines. The annual fuels costs of Hydrogen vehicle is
around 1500 USD which is very much less when
compared to annual gasoline fuel cost which is 9641
USD.
5. EMISSIONS FROM HYDROGEN
ENGINE
The following diagram shows the Combustion
chamber
The combustion of hydrogen with oxygen produces
Fig -1: IC Engine water as its only product:
2H2 + O2 = 2H2O (2)
The liquid gasoline engine has a carburetor which
sends a mixture of gasoline and air. The energy so The combustion of hydrogen with air however can
produces for the above air fuel ratio is 840 cal. also produce oxides of nitrogen (NOx):
Gaseous Hydrogen which is premixed with air H2 + O2 + N2 = H2O + N2 + NOx (3)
undergoes combustion and results in production of
energy equivalent to 710 cal [10]. The oxides of nitrogen are created due to the high
temperatures generated within the combustion
Liquid Hydrogen premixed with air upon chamber during combustion. This high temperature
combustion releases 970 cal. And Gaseous causes some of the nitrogen in X air to combine with
Hydrogen Injection along with air produces 1010 the oxygen in the air. The amount of NOx formed
cal. depends on:
www.ijera.com DOI: 10.9790/9622-1211205209 207 | P a g e
Sameer Rafiq Shah, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 11, November 2022, pp. 205-209
The air/fuel ratio atmospheric air instead of pure oxygen (as is usually
the case), hydrogen combustion may yield small
The engine compression ratio amounts of nitrogen oxides, along with the water
vapor. For this reason, air is not introduced in the
The engine speeds combustion chamber.
The ignition timing The steam then passes through the Thermoelectric
Ceramic Cooling System. Thermoelectric coolers
Whether thermal dilution is utilized
operate according to the Peltier effect. The effect
In addition to oxides of nitrogen, traces of carbon creates a temperature difference by transferring heat
monoxide and carbon dioxide can be present in the between two electrical junctions [12]. A voltage is
exhaust gas, due to seeped oil burning in the applied across joined conductors to create an electric
combustion chamber. current. When the current flows through the
junctions of the two conductors, heat is removed at
6. PROPOSED DESIGN OF ENGINE one junction and cooling occurs. Heat is deposited at
the other junction. It is used to condense the steam
The following figure shows the proposed design
and it changes the state of water from gaseous to
with new modifications to the Hydrogen IC Engine
liquid. This condensed water is then recycled from
for efficient operation and fuel recycling.
the recycling pump and is then collected in the water
tank. The electric charger is used to charge the
battery which is used during ionization of water.
This whole system is a closed system which requires
the above components for its functioning. Exchange
of energy takes place between various components
and working fluid (water) and hence the efficiency
of this system is further increased by insulating the
heated portions of the pipe. This prevents heat loss
due to conduction, convection, and radiation.
Fig - 2: Proposed IC Engine This system can be further optimized by connecting
it to ECU and adding various sensors like
The engine is a 4 Stroke SI engine which has high
Temperature sensors to measure temperature and
strength parts such has forged pistons, high quality
Infrared sensors to sense the flow of working fluid.
crankshaft, connecting rods etc. these parts are tuned
These sensors would prevent loss of heat flux and
to bear the large amount of force produced due to
would enhance the efficiency of the system.
combustion of a Hydrogen.
This system is arranged as shown along with the
The water tank has processed water which is free of
other components of the vehicle such as
salt i.e. distilled water. There is a pair of electrodes
transmission; electronics etc. and allows
(cathode and anode) placed in the water. It has large
recirculation of water hence the fuel circulation
surface area and hence the more exposing surface
takes place. But water leaks out due to high pressure
provides proper ionization of water into hydrogen
or minute cracks. This results in loss of heat
and oxygen. They are connected to battery which
potential and decreases efficiency.
gives enough current for ionization to take place.
This mixture of gas is then sent to IC engine via a Systems like KERS (Kinetic Energy recovery
control valve which varies its amount. This mixture system) which charges the batteries and ensures that
once inside the IC engine it undergoes combustion ionization process never stops. A thermoelectric
due to ignition system. The main byproduct of this cooling system also charges the battery and provides
mixture is pure water. Since lot of heat is produced excess energy to power onboard electronic systems.
during combustion of hydrogen (33.9 kcal/g), the Regenerative braking system can be used to utilize
water is in vapor or steam form. If carried out in the braking power which is dissociated in the form
www.ijera.com DOI: 10.9790/9622-1211205209 208 | P a g e
Sameer Rafiq Shah, et. al. International Journal of Engineering Research and Applications
www.ijera.com
ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 12, Issue 11, November 2022, pp. 205-209
of heat. It converts this energy to electricity which Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,
can be later used. 16,5, pp..3024- 3033.
[4] SHAH, S. R. (2015). Extraction of electrical
energy from heat produced during metal cutting
7. CONCEPT IMPLEMENTATION IN A
operation on lathe by using thermocouples.
VEHICLE Technology, 6(8), 78-95.
All these systems would be much more beneficial if [5] Shah, S., Mullapudy, V., "Design of a Novel
the vehicle is a Hydrogen-electric Hybrid which Foot Resting Mechanism Coupled with Vehicle
would initially run-on hydrogen produced from Dynamics and Controls," FISITA 2016 World
water. And later can be switched from IC engine Automotive Congress, Busan, Korea,
FISITA2016/F2016-VDCD-009
mode to Electric mode which would power the
[6] Karim GA (2000), A comparative evaluation of
electric motors to propel the vehicle. the performance characteristics of a spark
ignition engine using hydrogen and compressed
Different forms of energies would be extracted by natural gas as alternative fuels, International
different systems. Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 25(8):783-93
[7] Singh, N., Sharma, A., Shah, S., and
KERS – Kinetic energy Gardampaali, B., "Mechatronics Based Accident
Alarming System with Automatic Roadblock
Regenerative braking system – Braking Prevention System," SAE Technical Paper
power 2017-01-1728, 2017,
https://doi.org/10.4271/2017-01-1728.
Thermoelectric cooling system – Heat [8] Shah, S. R. Design Of A Sand Casting Method
Using Patterns Made Of Sublime Materials For
These energies so collected would be converted to Casting Intricate Shapes. J. Eng. Res. Appl,
electric form and can be further used. Intelligent 8(12), 64-70.
[9] “Hydrogen Fuel Enhancement” Wikipedia.
switching of propulsion source from IC Engine to
16 September 2016
Electric motor or vice versa would extend the <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel_e
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would be 100% Clean Energy which would not [10] Shah, S., Kumar, D., Tiwari, N., “Design and
pollute the environment since the byproduct is pure Development Of An In-Wheel Suspension With
water. Novel Automatic Camber Control Strategy For
Improved Handling,” FISITA Web Congress
Acknowledgment 2020, F2020-VDC-081
[11] “Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine
We would like to thank Department of Mechanical
Vehicle” Wikipedia. 16 September.2016
Engineering at Sir MVIT for their extended support <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_intern
for library access. We would also like to thank our al_combustion_engine_ vehicle>.
professors for sharing their valuable knowledge with [12] Hydrogen use in Internal Combusiton Engines.
us. https://www1.eere.energy.gov/hydrogenandfuel
cells/tech_validation/pdf s/fcm03r0.pdf
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