Development of a Dedicated Hydrogen Port Injection Kit for Small Engines

The danger posed by climate change and the striving for securities of energy supply are issues high on the political agenda these days. Governments are putting strategic plans in motion to decrease primary energy use, take carbon out of fuels and facilitate modal shifts. Man's energy requirements are touching astronomical heights. The natural resources of the Earth can no longer cope with it as their rate of consumption far outruns their rate of regeneration. The automotive sector is without a doubt a chief contributor to this mayhem as fossil fuel resources are fast depleting. The harmful emissions from vehicles using these fuels are destroying our forests and contaminating our water bodies and even the air that we breathe. The need of the hour is to look not only for new alternative energy resources but also clean energy resources. Hydrogen is expected to be one of the most important fuels in the near future to meet the stringent emission norms. The use of the hydrogen as fuel in the internal combustion engine represents an alternative use to replace the hydrocarbons fuels, which produce polluting gases such as carbon monoxide (CO), hydro carbon (HC) during combustion. Developing countries like India in particular are pushing for research and development of Hydrogen fuelled internal combustion engines (H2ICEs), powering two- and three-wheeler as well as passenger cars and buses to decrease local pollution at an affordable cost. This article offers a comprehensive overview of developing a dedicated hydrogen port injection kit to run a conventional 170 cc SI Engine on Hydrogen only. The comprehensive assessment was done to investigate the effects of hydrogen fuel compositions variation on brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), Exhaust gas temperature, Unburned Hydrocarbon emission (UHC), Carbon monoxide Emission (CO), Oxides of nitrogen emission (NOx) and Smoke opacity. Also, the measures taken to prevent knocking and ensure smooth running of hydrogen engine have been discussed.