Hydrogen Energy Solutions

What is Hydrogen Energy?

Definition: A lighter than air extremely flammable gas.

HYDROGEN gas in usable quantity is manufactured from splitting water (H²0) and releasing the oxygen.

HYDROGEN gas in extreme quantities can be manufactured from wood and other combustible waste in a wood gas reactor. This reactor produces hydrogen in the anaerobic environment along with carbon monoxide and converts the carbon monoxide, which is a dangerous combustible gas into moisture and carbon dioxide gas which is found in fizzy cool drinks. Hydrogen energy manufactured in this manner is very efficient and is clean burning. By-products from this process are wood tar and bio-char. Biochar is for all intents and purposes is otherwise known as activated charcoal and can be eaten to absorb any toxins as in poisoning and is also very good for fertiliser use. Wood tar can be used to treat wooden poles and other lumber to make it insect and rot resistant. 

The process of splitting water for hydrogen is varied, with different applications in abundance. The end result is always H²O (Water) converting into two molecules of hydrogen (HH) and oxygen (O). In its HH form, without air or oxygen, hydrogen is not easily combustible. When exposed to air or oxygen, hydrogen is an energetic fuel – it burns fast and intensely. Herein lays the hydrogen magic. Once burnt, it reverts to its original state- WATER! Hydrogen produces no toxic gas in its exhaust fume.

The wood gas reactor hydrogen (H) is pure hydrogen mixed with carbon monoxide (both gases extremely combustible) can be used in many applications whilst in its combustible state. This can be done as combustible engine gas; high volume heating flame, bottling into cylinders for portable gas use.

For this reason, it is abundant, nontoxic and environmentally friendly. And for these reasons harnessing processes are constantly being sought out.

HHO – hydrogen/hydrogen/oxygen common names exist for this form such as “Brown’s gas” or “hydroxy gas” and “HHO”.

Hydrogen – in its pure form (H), it is known as “hydrogen”. 

Uses

HHO gas is a field where everybody gets excited... they make the gas and ignite it with a spectacular flash and a resounding bang, much like a gunshot.  But many of these experimenters have managed to run engines using only this gas with varying successes being recorded. This gas is super sensitive to ignition sources and is thus dangerous to play with. It requires a “bubbler” cylinder and a very fine gauge “flashback” arrestor close to the ignition point for safe operation. Its flame is so clean, it is hardly visible and the flame is therefore intensely hot. This gas can also be used for cooking or heating. THIS GAS CAN NOT BE COMPRESSED IT WILL PRODUCE A DEVASTATING EXPLOSION WITHOUT AN IGNITION SOURCE.

HH gas is much more stable. As there is no oxygen in it, it will ignite at the end of a tube on exposure to AIR with a soft POP, and burn with an orange- blue flame, it will not burn into the tube, as there is no oxygen in the tube to complete the burn. The orange in the flame at the lit end of the tube is incombustible nitrogen and other impurities in the air, however, but once mixed with OXYGEN this gas becomes a real mean burning gas with a very heated attitude as in HHO gas above.

Hydrogen gas is used extensively in hydrogen batteries, the lightest most powerful for size and most expensive battery technology known. These cells are used in upmarket electric car experiments, some of which are already successfully running on trial. This gas in its absolute pure form, in the correctly configured cylinder, CAN be compressed to liquid form at extreme pressures. Only a little of it goes a long way.

Pros of Hydrogen Energy

• Hydrogen is very definitely the cleanest most environmentally un-invasive manufactured fuel source known at present. It produces water from whence it came upon ignition (the catalyst for recombining with oxygen) and therefore is completely nonpolluting. It is not prohibitively expensive to manufacture. It is so energetic that very little gas is needed for most purposes.

• Wood gas hydrogen, although burning wood can quite happily perform its task using only tree trimmings and cuttings, leaving the tree intact to produce more trimmings next season, therefore, this gas is produced in an extremely sustainable manner and is thus totally environmentally friendly.

Cons of Hydrogen Energy

• Extraction by splitting water is still in its infancy and technology is therefore expensive and sometimes ineffective. There are various materials with associated technologies currently in operation but these are constantly being revised. You need electric and mechanical energy to create this gas.

• Wood gas energy requires the collecting or obtaining of wood and cutting it to smallish size chunks and drying this wood prior to loading into the reactor. This can be time-consuming. The wood gas reactor requires approximately 30 mins of daily cleaning to remove the collected tar and biotar products. It takes approximately 15-20 minutes to build up its gas to full volume.

Our Hydrogen Energy options

Cheric Energy has been experimenting extensively with this field and we have had some success within it. We are currently exploring the option of gas welding and portable units to create on tap cooking gas direct from the water. As time goes on we hope to create our very own hydrogen cell for power. 

Cheric Energy is currently producing wood gas stoves for rural and camping use, these stoves once lit are essentially smoke free, as they induct the smoke and in so doing burn the oxygen from the smoke turning it into hydrogen and carbon monoxide venting these gases above the flame and reigniting them as burning gas thereby completely consuming any smoke. (This wood gas stove should not be confused with the 'rocket' stove).

Currently, we offer superb hydrogen generating capacity from renewable energy resources in the form of wood gas. Our ThunderGas wood gas reactor can power petrol engine generators and other equipment with the high volume of hydrogen and carbon monoxide gas from small 5kW engines right up to 300kW. These reactors are fuelled by off-cut wood, pelletized grain or otherwise waste matter and thus are environmentally friendly as the fumes of the petrol engines exhaust consists mainly of air, moisture and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide incidentally is the same gas which you drink in your fizzy cool drink. We are very proud of our ThunderGas technology.

Experimentation in the hydrogen field, being vast and expensive, is our most limiting factor as money always is required for other departments and sharing R&D money with day to day expenses is tiresome and trying on the budget…