Revolutionizing Transportation: A Comprehensive Review of Hydrogen-Powered Engines

Abstract

Hydrogen as an alternative fuel source has gained significant attention due to its potential to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and address energy sustainability concerns. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of hydrogen engines, exploring their advancements, challenges, and prospects. The study encompasses a thorough review of the current state of hydrogen engine technology, including various combustion mechanisms, fuel delivery systems, and emissions characteristics. The paper delves into the key advancements achieved in hydrogen engine design, addressing efficiency improvements, power output optimization, and enhanced durability. It highlights the importance of advanced ignition and combustion strategies, such as lean burn and stratified charge combustion, in maximizing engine performance while minimizing emissions. Additionally, the integration of hydrogen engines with hybrid and electric systems is discussed as a means of further enhancing their efficiency and overall environmental impact.

Introduction

I. INTRODUCTION

Today, intercourse combustion engines using fossil fuels generate about 25% of the world’s power and they are responsible for about 17% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, while producing other main pollutant emissions such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter that cause adverse effects on air quality. In recent years IC engines have been under a lot of scrutiny due to their environmental effect. Due to drastic changes in the climate and air quality caused by the emissions from the use of Petrol and Diesel engines, Manufacturers are being pressured to discontinue producing vehicles that use Petrol and Diesel and adopt engines that use alternative fuels like Hydrogen and electricity.

 Efforts are being made all over the world to reduce carbon emissions, many countries have set a target to fully electrify their transport systems in the coming years. Many countries also provide incentives on products like solar panels and electric vehicles. By providing such incentives they are encouraging customers to purchase Hybrid and Electric vehicles and reduce their carbon footprint. Public charging stations are constructed to enable charging on the go, this makes the owners less worried about running out of battery while commuting. As electric vehicles are new technology, they are less reliable, and the upfront cost of an EV is greater than a petrol vehicle but due the savings made by using electricity instead of petrol the EV pays off the additional cost in a few years in fuel savings.

Hydrogen is another alternative to fossil fuels. Usage of hydrogen fuel is more beneficial as it is a renewable source of energy and potentially CO2, this is where both EVs and conventional fuel IC engines fall back as EVs have batteries that cost a lot to be manufactured and their battery capacity reduces over the year and conventional fuel engines produce harmful emissions. The production of Hydrogen is very easy, it can be produced by steam reforming methane or electrolysis of water. Hydrogen also has a greater calorific value thus producing more energy for the same amount of fuel.

II. OVERVIEW

The speed of hydrogen-air mixes allowing various load lack of harmful emissions, the sustainability control sustainability control techniques (for example, power regulation by varying (potentially CO2free), and the energy security are the motivations for a hydrogen economy. The equivalent ratio (which prevents throttling losses) The current study examines internal combustion hydrogen engines. For the following reasons, internal combustion engines (ICEs) are permitted due to the high auto-ignition temperature. a higher compression ratio. A higher compression ratio. For mixes close to ICEs, which are well-proven, straightforward, and stoichiometric, combustion is a nearly constant-known process, and because of the high burning operation and low velocity of these mixtures, conversion of an engine for hydrogen volume combustion is possible. Cost of lean hydrogen flames. Utilising ICEs enables bi-fuel operation (e.g., the engines can run on petrol and on hydrogen and burn quickly enough to create almost no turbulence). However, improving techniques are required.

the prevention of aberrant hydrogen combustion prior to pre-ignition in the following cycle. This advanced engine has proven to be difficult, and efforts are being made to prevent aberrant combustion that happens during the intake stroke and produces backfire have significant effects on the way engines are designed, [1, 7, 13, 18]. The mechanism is known as load control and runaway mixture generation. Pre-ignition and knocking are additional causes of pre-ignition in SI engines. There are three anomalous combustion regimes: knock cycle, raising the temperature in the chamber, and (auto-ignition of the end gas area), as well as pre-ignition producing a hot spot [7]. Backfire (also known as uncontrolled ignition caused by a hot spot, prior to the SI), and any of the aforementioned factors might backfire. Flashbacks Have significant effects on the way engines are designed, [1, 7, 13, 18]. The mechanism is known as load control and runaway mixture generation. Pre-ignition and knocking are additional causes of pre-ignition in SI engines. There are three anomalous combustion regimes: knock cycle, raising the temperature in the chamber, and (auto-ignition of the end gas area), as well as pre-ignition producing a hot spot [7]. Backfire (also known as uncontrolled ignition caused by a hot spot, prior to the SI), and Any of the aforementioned factors might backfire. Flashbacks, backflashes, and induction ignition.

III. LITERATURE REVIEW

1. Paper 1: “Development of Hydrogen Fuelled Internal Combustion Engine” (2016). This paper focuses on the development of an internal combustion engine fuelled by hydrogen. The authors, Arslan Haider, Wan Aznar Wan Yusuf, and Imran Rashid, explore the technical aspects of adapting hydrogen as a fuel for internal combustion engines. They likely discuss the modifications required for the engine to run on hydrogen, including adjustments to the fuel delivery system, combustion characteristics, and emissions control. The paper likely examines performance metrics, emissions characteristics, and potential challenges associated with hydrogen combustion in the internal combustion engine context.
2. Paper 2: “Performance Analysis of a Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engine with Exhaust Gas Recirculation” (2017). Benjamin Götz, Stefan Pischinger, and Ludger Kell investigate the performance of a hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE) equipped with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The paper likely examines how EGR affects combustion efficiency, emissions, and overall engine performance in the context of hydrogen fuel. The authors likely present experimental results and numerical simulations to analyse the effects of EGR on combustion stability and emissions reduction in hydrogen ICEs.
3. Paper 3: “Hydrogen Combustion in Internal Combustion Engines: Experimental Studies and Numerical Simulations” (2018). Qing Feng Li, Fushun Liu, and Qing Shu delve into the combustion characteristics of hydrogen in internal combustion engines. They likely conduct both experimental studies and numerical simulations to explore hydrogen combustion behaviour, ignition characteristics, and combustion efficiency. The paper likely examines factors influencing combustion stability and emissions in hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines. This research could contribute to better understanding the fundamental combustion processes of hydrogen within an engine context.
4. Paper 4: “Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines: An Alternative for the Automotive Sector” (2018). Vinícius Bueno Rodrigues, Victor Gabriel Alves Ribeiro, and Evaristo Chalbaud Biscaia Jr. likely provide a comprehensive review of hydrogen internal combustion engines (HICEs) as an alternative for the automotive sector. This paper probably covers the potential of HICEs to address energy and environmental challenges in the transportation industry. The authors likely analyse the benefits, challenges, and prospects of HICEs in terms of efficiency, emissions reduction, and integration with existing infrastructure. They may also discuss the role of policies and regulations in promoting the adoption of hydrogen-powered vehicles. 

IV. MAIN DISCUSSION

In our study we have studied that how the hydrogen engine is going to be a revolutionary product by replacing the all the current options in market like petrol, diesel engine as well as it is expected to take over battery operated engines in the market, as it’s a kind of cleaner fuel it will also not cause any harm to the environment. Before using hydrogen fuel directly into the engines, the main challenge is to store hydrogen as per the requirements of the fuel, also it can increase the efficiency of the engine and would increase the life and also require less maintenance other than current options currently Toyota motors Ltd. And Cummins Is working over hydrogen engines.

Hydrogen is a cleaner fuel and can be produced from the water using renewable electricity, and this fuel burns with zero greenhouse gas emissions making it a cleaner fuel for the environment. In current trials it was found that the hydrogen engine is the same as reliable as the current gas or diesel engine, producing almost the same amount of the power.

Here we can power a hydrogen engine in two ways:

1. Using fuel cells which will convert the hydrogen into electricity, which will power the engine just like an EV battery.
2. Another way is using the hydrogen in the IC engines as fuel with the same efficiency and power.

Hydrogen fuel is currently experiencing a resurgence in interest due to its potential to offer long-term answers to energy and environmental issues. There is currently a hydrogen engine that has been the subject of various investigations throughout the world.

Currently it is assumed that it will destroy the EV market due to its excellent performance during testing as currently during testing of Cummins motors it was found that it was producing almost same output as produced in the current fuel options i.e. (Petrol or Diesel).Currently the main work which is going on is to store hydrogen in the tanks as it’s highly flammable and if not handled properly will cause severe accidents.

V. RESULT

Currently man company, in which they were developing a hybrid kind of engine that will work on 25% of the hydrogen as fuel and 75% on the natural gas, also they are currently working on the engine that can work with 100% hydrogen as fuel like other companies i.e., Toyota, Cummins etc.

In India currently Reliance industry and its vehicle partner Ashok Leyland are working on the hydrogen engine for heavy duty vehicles, as the engine had successful trials in 2022 which will reduce the carbon emissions to zero and provide a much affordable and sustainable fuel.

Conclusion

In conclusion, hydrogen engines represent a promising pathway towards achieving sustainable and environmentally responsible transportation and energy systems. As the world increasingly embraces clean energy solutions, hydrogen engines have the potential to play a pivotal role in the global efforts to combat climate change, reduce emissions, and create a more resilient and sustainable future. Continued research, development, and investments in hydrogen technologies are essential to accelerate the deployment of hydrogen engines on a larger scale and pave the way for a cleaner and greener world.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2023 Pranali Kemshetti, Kanshik Wali, Hritik Kamble, Abhishek Khairnar, Yogesh Jadhav, Krishna Amonkar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.