Design And Production Of A Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell For The Production Of Brown’s Gas

Abstract

The use of petroleum products (fossil fuels) has raised a lot of environmental concerns over the past years. This is due to the fact that most of the machines and devices manufactured are engineered to use these conventional fuels which include petrol, diesel and natural gas. However, these fuels substances pollute and deteriorate the quality of the environment. Some of these pollutants include sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and ozone. These gases are called greenhouse gases because they contribute to the greenhouse effect. These gases also cause depletion of the ozone layer. In the search for alternative fuels, researchers have used improved technologies such as steam reforming, partial oxidation, and electrolysis among many to produce hydrogen gas. Hydrogen gas is used in modern times for varied applications in industries and is now been considered as a viable primary fuel for the future. Meanwhile, all these methods produce impure hydrogen except electrolysis of water. Electrolysis of water produces hydrogen and oxygen as products gases. A collection of these gases through a common outlet gives rise to a unique type of gas called Brown’s or oxyhydrogen gas. Brown’s gas is a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen bonded magnetically in a ratio of 1:2. In the automobile industry, Brown’s gas is used as a fuel supplement to gasoline in internal combustion engines (ICEs), as well as welding and cutting of iron plates in the fabrication sector. In this project, a fabricated oxyhydrogen generator was used to produce Brown’s gas from distilled water using three selected catalyst namely caustic soda (KOH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3). Parameters that influence the yield of oxyhydrogen gas were further studied. It was observed that increasing in the number of electrodes, catalyst concentration, voltage and time increased the yield of oxyhydrogen gas production. With the rapid increase in consumption of fossil fuels and its high contribution to environmental pollution, this project also sought to improve emissions of internal combustion engines characteristics. This was performed by using oxyhydrogen gas produced in the laboratory. The results showed a drastic reduction in the concentration of CO, NOx, Total Hydrocarbon (THCs) and SO2 and a subsequent increase in engine performance and efficiency. The application of oxyhydrogen gas as a fuel supplement for Spark and Compression Internal Engines was considered to be one of the most desirable methods to ensuring green environment. Oxyhydrogen gas has many excellent combustion properties that can be used to improve hydrocarbon combustion and emission performance of automobile engines.