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A water-fuelled car is an automobile that is claimed to use water as its fuel or produces fuel from water onboard, with no other energy input. Water-fuelled cars have been mentioned in newspapers, popular science magazines, local news coverage, and the internet; at least some of the claims were found to be tied to investment frauds. This article focuses on vehicles which claim to extract chemical energy directly from water, a process which would violate the first and/or second laws of thermodynamics.

What water-fuelled cars are not

A water-fueled car is not any of the following:

• The steam engine: A steam engine uses water to transmit energy from the fire or other heat source to the pistons or turbine that do the work of turning the engine.
• The Crower six stroke, which adds two extra strokes to the customary internal combustion engine four stroke Otto cycle, to produce and exhaust steam from water, while venting heat from the engine.
• Water injection which is a method for cooling the combustion chambers of engines by adding water to the incoming fuel-air mixture, allowing for greater compression ratios and reduced engine knocking (detonation).
• The hydrogen car, although it often incorporates some of the same elements. To fuel a hydrogen car from water, energy from a power plant is used to generate hydrogen by electrolysis. The resulting hydrogen is then either burned in the car's engine or merged with oxygen to create water via a fuel cell. The car ultimately receives its energy from the power plant, with the hydrogen acting as an energy carrier.
• Hydrogen fuel enhancement systems.

Chemical energy content of water

Spontaneous chemical reactions do not create energy; they release it by converting unstable bonds into more stable bonds and/or by increasing entropy. The burning of conventional fuels such as petrol (gasoline), wood, and coal converts the fuel into substances with less energy, mostly water and carbon dioxide. In the combustion of fossil fuels water is a waste product, and the overall reaction can be represented with the following chemical equation:

C_nH_m + (n + m/4) O₂ → n CO₂ + m/2 H₂O

Water is such an abundant chemical compound in part because it has very stable bonds that resist most reactions. For water to participate in a reaction that releases energy, high energy compounds must be added. For example, it is possible to generate the combustible fuel acetylene by adding calcium carbide to water. However, the calcium carbide, a high energy material, is the 'fuel,' not water. Under conditions common on Earth, chemical energy cannot be extracted from water alone. (It is theoretically possible to extract nuclear energy from water by fusion, but fusion power plants of any scale remain impractical, and no allegedly water-fuelled cars are claimed to be powered by fusion.)

Electrolysis

Many alleged water-fuelled cars obtain hydrogen or a mixture of hydrogen and oxygen (sometimes called "oxyhydrogen", "HHO", or "Brown's Gas") by the electrolysis of water, a process that must be powered electrically. The hydrogen or oxyhydrogen is then burned, supposedly powering the car and also providing the energy to electrolyse more water. The overall process can be represented by the following chemical equations:

2H₂O → 2H₂ + O₂

2H₂ + O₂ → 2H₂O

Since the combustion step is the exact reverse of the electrolysis step, the energy released in combustion exactly equals the energy consumed in the electrolysis step, and—even assuming 100% efficiency—there would be no energy left over to power the car. In other words, such systems start and end in the same thermodynamic state, and are therefore perpetual motion machines, violating the first law of thermodynamics. And under actual conditions in which hydrogen is burned, efficiency is limited by the second law of thermodynamics and is likely to be around 20%. More energy is therefore required to drive the electrolysis cell than can be extracted from burning the resulting hydrogen-oxygen mixture.

Claims of functioning water-fuelled cars

Dr. Andrija Puharich

United States Patent 4,394,230, Method and Apparatus for Splitting Water Molecules, issued to Dr. Andrija Puharich in 1983, made complex electrical waveforms resonate water molecules and shatter them. This freed hydrogen and oxygen, creating a new kind of environment-friendly fuel made of water.. Dr Andrija Puharich reportedly drove his motor home for hundreds of thousands of miles around North America in the 1970s using only water as fuel. According to Dr. Puharich the basic cycle of using water for fuel is described in the following two equations, familiar to every high school student of Chemistry:

H2O Electrolysis + 249.68 Btu Delta G → H2 + (1/2)O2 per mole of water (1 mole = 18 gms.). (1)

This means that it requires 249.688 Btu of energy (from electricity) to break water by electrocal fission into the gases hydrogen and oxygen.

H2 and (1/2)O2 -catalyst→ H2O - Delta H 302.375 Btu per mole of water. (2)

This means that 302.375 Btu of energy (heat or electricity) will be released when the gases, hydrogen and oxygen, combine. The end product (the exhaust) from this reaction is water. Note that more energy (under ideal conditions) is released from combining the gases than is used to free them from water. It is know that under ideal conditions it is possible to get some 20% more energy out of reaction (2) above, then it takes to produce the gases of reaction (1) above. Therefore, if reaction (1) could be carried out at 100% efficiency, the release of energy from reaction (2) in an optimally efficient engine (such as a low temperature fuel cell), there would be a net energy profit which would make the use of water as a fuel an economically feasible source of energy.

Stanley Meyer's water fuel cell

Stanley Meyer claimed that he ran a dune buggy on water instead of petrol. He replaced the spark plugs with "injectors" to spray a fine mist of water into the engine cylinders, which he claimed were subjected to an electrical resonance. The "fuel cell" would split the water mist into hydrogen and oxygen gas, which would then be combusted back into water vapour in a conventional internal combustion engine to produce net energy. Meyer's claims were never independently verified, and in 1996 he was found guilty of fraud in an Ohio court. He died of an aneurysm in 1998, and conspiracy theories persist claiming that he was poisoned.

Garrett electrolytic carburetor

Charles H. Garrett allegedly demonstrated a water-fuelled car "for several minutes", which was reported on September 8, 1935 in The Dallas Morning News. The car generated hydrogen by electrolysis as can be seen by examining Garrett's patent, issued that same year. This patent includes drawings which show a carburetor similar to an ordinary float-type carburetor but with electrolysis plates in the lower portion, and where the float is used to maintain the level of the water. Garrett's patent fails to identify a new source of energy.

Aquygen

The firm Hydrogen Technology Applications has also patented an electrolyser design and has trademarked the term "Aquygen" to refer to the hydrogen oxygen gas mixture produced by the device. Originally developed as an alternative to oxyacetylene welding, the company also claims to be able to run a vehicle exclusively on "Aquygen" and invoke an unproven state of matter called "magnegases" and a discredited theory about magnecules to explain their results. Company founder Dennis Klein claims to be in negotiations with a major US auto manufacturer and that the US government wants to produce Hummers that use his technology.

Genepax Water Energy System

In June 2008, Japanese company Genepax unveiled a car which it claims runs on only water and air, and many news outlets dubbed the vehicle a "water-fuel car". The company says it "cannot the core part of this invention,” yet, but it has disclosed that the system uses an onboard energy generator (a "membrane electrode assembly") to extract the hydrogen using a "mechanism which is similar to the method in which hydrogen is produced by a reaction of metal hydride and water". The hydrogen is then used to generate energy to run the car. This has led to speculation that the metal hydride is consumed in the process and is the ultimate source of the car's energy, making the car a hydride-fuelled "hydrogen on demand" vehicle, rather than water-fuelled as claimed. On the company's website the energy source is explained only with the words "Chemical reaction". The science and technology magazine Popular Mechanics has described Genepax's claims as "Rubbish."

Thushara Priyamal Edirisinghe

Also in 2008, Sri Lankan news sources reported that Thushara Priyamal Edirisinghe claimed to drive a water-fuelled a car about 300 kilometers on three liters of water. Like other alleged water-fuelled cars described above, energy for the car is supposedly produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen using electrolysis, and then burning the gases in the engine. Thushara showed the technology to Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka, who extended the Government’s full support to his efforts to introduce the water-powered car to the Sri Lankan market.

Hydrogen as a supplement

In addition to claims of cars that run exclusively on water, there have also been claims that burning hydrogen or oxyhydrogen in addition to petrol or diesel fuel increases mileage. Around 1970, Yull Brown developed technology which allegedly allows cars to burn fuel more efficiently while improving 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 air intake system. Whether the system actually improves emissions or fuel efficiency is debated. Similarly, Hydrogen Technology Applications claims to be able increase fuel efficiency by bubbling "Aquyen" into the fuel tank.

A number of websites exist promoting the use of oxyhydrogen (often called "HHO"), selling plans for do-it-yourself electrolysers or entire kits with the promise of large improvements in fuel efficiency. According to a spokesman for the American Automobile Association, "All of these devices look like they could probably work for you, but let me tell you they don't."

Gasoline pill and related additives

Related to the water-fuelled car hoax are claims that additives, often a pill, convert the water into usable fuel, similar to a carbide lamp, in which a high-energy additive produces the combustible fuel. This "gasoline pill" has been allegedly demonstrated on a full-sized vehicle, as reported in 1980 in Mother Earth News. Once again, water itself cannot contribute any energy to the process, the additive or the pill is the fuel.

Hydrogen on demand technologies

A hydrogen on demand vehicle uses some kind of chemical reaction to produce hydrogen from water. The hydrogen is then burned in an internal combustion engine or used in a fuel cell to generate electricity which powers the vehicle. While these may seem at first sight to be 'water-fuelled cars', they actually take their energy from the chemical that reacts with water, and vehicles of this type are not precluded by the laws of nature. Aluminium, magnesium, and sodium borohydride are substances that react with water to generate hydrogen, and all have been used in hydrogen on demand prototypes. Eventually, the chemical runs out and has to be replenished. In all cases the energy required to produce such compounds exceeds the energy obtained from their reaction with water.

One example of a hydrogen on demand device, created by scientists from the University of Minnesota and the Weizmann Institute of Science, uses boron to generate hydrogen from water. An article in New Scientist in July 2006 described the power source under the headline "A fuel tank full of water," and they quote Abu-Hamed as saying:

The aim is to produce the hydrogen on-board at a rate matching the demand of the car engine. We want to use the boron to save transporting and storing the hydrogen.

A vehicle powered by the device would take on water and boron instead of petrol, and generate boron trioxide. The chemical reactions describing the energy generation are:

4B + 6H₂O → 2B₂O₃ + 6H₂

6H₂ + 3O₂ → 6H₂O

The balanced chemical equation representing the overall process (hydrogen generation and combustion) is:

4B + 3O₂ → 2 B₂O₃

As shown above, boron trioxide is the only net byproduct, and it could be removed from the car and turned back into boron and reused. Electricity input is required to complete this process which Al-Hamed suggests could come from solar panels.

References

1. ^ Edwards, Tony (1996-12-01). "End of road for car that ran on Water". The Sunday Times. Times Newspapers Limited. p. Features 12. Retrieved 2007-05-16. Cite error: The named reference "Times" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
2. State of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety press release, November 9, 2006
3. "The Truth About Water-Powered Cars: Mechanic's Diary". Popular Mechanics. 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
4. ^ Professor doubts water car claims - A leading alternative fuels expert throws water on Japanese company claims that it's developed the world's first car powered by just water. Professor Theodosios Korakianitis at Queen Mary University of London says water by itself would not be enough to get your car going.
5. ^ Ball, Philip (September 14, 2007). "Burning water and other myths". Nature News. Retrieved 2007-09-14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/report/Guidelines-H2-Fuel-in-CMVs-Nov2007.pdf
7. Physics In an Automotive Engine
8. Improving IC Engine Efficiency
9. US 4936961  Method and Apparatus for Splitting Water Molecules - Dr. Andrija Puharich
10. official website about Dr. Andrija Puharich
11. ^ Dr. Andrija Puharich lectures 1/5
12. ^ article by Dr. Andrija Puharich
13. US 4936961  Method for the production of a fuel gas - Stanley A. Meyer
14. NatureNews, "Burning water and other myths", September 14, 1997
15. http://keelynet.com/energy/garrett.htm
16. ^ US 2006676  Electrolytic carburetor - Charles H. Garrett
17. US patent 6,689,259, Dennis Klein, "Mixed gas generator", issued 2004-02-10 
18. Business Wire Hydrogen Technology Applications and UTEK Corporation Announce Strategic Alliance Agreement (April 2002)
19. EVWORLD FEATURE: Electric Cars and the Goldilocks Planet: Global Warming | Carbon Dioxide | Cold Fusion
20. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News: Clearwater man puts technology to work Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida) (November 2005)
21. J. M. Calo (November 3, 2006). "Comments on "A new gaseous and combustible form of water," by R.M. Santilli (Int. J. Hydrogen Energy 2006: 31(9), 1113–1128)". International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (32): p. 1309–1312. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2006.11.004
22. Cars run on water: Miracle or scam?
23. Goodbye Big Oil - Vive
24. FOX News 13: Clearwater Florida man makes HHO gas to run a welder and a car on pure water Craig Patrick looks at Aquygen™ as an industrial gas replacement and an evolutionary step for hybrid cars.(2005)
25. "New Fuel Cell System 'Generates Electricity with Only Water, Air'". Nikkei Business Publications,Inc. 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-06-13.
26. "Water-fuel car unveiled in Japan". Reuters. 2008-06-13. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
27. Ghelfi, Carli (June 18, 2008). "Water-fueled car: too good to be true?". Cleantech.com. Retrieved 2008-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
28. "Japanese company creates eco-friendly car that uses water as fuel!". India Times. 2008-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-18. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
29. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/genepax-water-powered-car-japan-debunking.php
30. "Japanese Company Says Laws of Physics Don't Apply — to Cars". Slashdot. 2008-06-14. Retrieved 2008-06-14.
31. Rapier, Robert (18 June 2008). "How to Run a Car on Water: The Truth About Genepax's Hydrogen Car". The Intelligence Daily. Retrieved 2008-06-22. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
32. http://genepax.co.jp/en/mechanism/system.html Power generation mechanism of WES
33. Allen, Mike (July 3, 2008). "The Truth About Water-Powered Cars: Mechanic's Diary". Retrieved 2008-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
34. The news sources cited below report that the trip was from Christ King College, Pannipitiya, Thushara, to Anuradhapura and back.
35. ^ Dailynews Sri Lanka: Groundbreaking invention from Athurugiriya youth
36. Business intelligence Middle east:The water-powered car race heats up still further
37. Dailynews Sri Lanka: In search of creativity
38. Sinhalaya News Agency: Walter Jayawardhana:Sri Lankan inventor says he has made the car that runs on water
39. newsreview: Hydrogen generators get a test drive in the search for fuel economy and lower emissions By Scott D.F. Reeves
40. Spring, Tom (July 28, 2008). "Gas Crisis Fuels Dubious Online Offers". PC World. Retrieved 2008-08-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
41. ""Hydrogen On Demand"". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
42. ""Millennium Cell Provides Ford With Prototype Hydrogen On Demand Fuel System for Evaluation"". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
43. ""Engineuity presents a breakthrough in alternative fuel"". Retrieved 2008-08-13.
44. ^ Adam, David (2006-07-29). "A fuel tank full of water". New Scientist: p. 35. Retrieved 2007-03-01. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Check date values in: |date= (help) "Forget cars fuelled by alcohol and vegetable oil. Before long, you might be able to run your car with nothing more than water in its fuel tank. It would be the ultimate zero-emissions vehicle."

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