Will cars ever run on water instead of petrol?

Question

I know the basics of how an engine works currently, but do you think that technology could in the future find a way to design an engine that will run on water and still keep the same speed and performance?

or any other green fuel for that matter. or do you think that big oil companies try and suppress this kind of research?

Answer 1

Hydrogen cell type ideas have been around for a while. Who knows? One thing's certain, we can't carry on relying on an ever-diminishing supply of fossil fuels. Biodiesel seems the best bet in the short term.

Answer 2

There's a fundamental reason why this can't happen. Water is a product of combustion, not a fuel for it. You can turn water into hydrogen and oxygen, but you have to put energy IN.

Someone could postulate driving around with a big accumulator filled with pressurised water, and letting the water out through a turbine. That would probably get you down the street to the chemists at best. And you'd still need some energy source to charge up the accumulator.

I'm afraid wont_cook is dreaming. Conspiracy theories have to be physically possible at least.

The only practical way for a car to run on water is to charge up some energy store (battery, hydrogen tank, whatever) using hydro power stations then let the car drive around on the stored energy.

As to the second part of the question, most definitely yes.

- enthusiasts in the UK already make their own biodiesel from waste cooking oil and run their cars on that, neat or at 50% blend. Others make it with rapeseed, jatropha, and dozens of other things, many on a serious industrial scale (Greenergy, Argent, others). I hear CAT are testing 100% palm oil on some diesel generators. You can easily find a commercial blend containing 5% biodiesel (which is all the engine makers will guarantee at the moment); just find a Rix forecourt (rural areas). What's holding it back is confused legislation - not deliberate obfuscation, just cackhandedness.

- bioethanol has fuelled cars in Brazil for decades. It was smelly and not great for the engine, and then Brazil struck oil, so it declined. But I gather it's back worldwide, and hopefully the problems will be solved this time round.

- fuel cells can certainly run cars on hydrogen. There are three problems, namely (1) the cost of fuel cells, (2) where you get the hydrogen from and (3) how you store it. (1) is a matter of time, (2) is renewable electricity, and (3) is probably the biggest challenge (but there are enough clever ideas out there that will solve it).

What will clinch it? Policy can help and should do much more, but it will be forced by peak oil in the next 5 years or so regardless. If consumption keeps rising but production starts declining, oil prices will go higher than you could ever believe. Substitutes will then be easy to justify economically (and all the technical problems are really just about cost).

PS I just had to check out holographicw's submission. This is a variation of hydrogen as an energy carrier (not an energy source; like electricity).
http://sg.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060711174403AA6ddMB has discussed this. The clip is interesting but the guy is still having to source the actual energy from somewhere else. If he's found a neat way to store the energy for transit, well done him. But it's not water as a fuel.

My favourite fuel source for the future? wave power. If the hydrogen boys crack their part of the puzzle, then you'll be able to run cars on that kind of "water energy" for sure.

Answer 3

yes. water cannot be compressed . using a vacuum to return an injection of water into a hollow pipe has forced a piston to move through the same pipe which then created an exact replica of a vacuum the other end of the pipe. an elaberation of this working theory produced a "vehicle" that was further exploited by the archimedes princible of releasing energy rather than enhancing the same. However the economics involved would topple whole companies of thousands of workers in the internal combustion industry....besides, places like kent in the uk. would not be able to supply the water needed for such a vast undertaking

Answer 4

Quite possibly.

A friend, something of an entrepreneur and a very capable technician, developed a fleet of Vauxhall Omegas which ran perfectly on USED chip fat. Whereas, in the finite wisdom (short-sighted stupidity) the VAT people forbad its use because... they had no taxation category in which they may pidgeonhole its use and in so doing gain tax.

Hardly suprising that UK designers look overseas for support for their projects. A little known fact is that the guy who produced the legendary 4wd Audi Quattro Turbo UR rally car (for those younger than me, suffice to say that this was a pioneering technological breakthrough and world rally champion for much of the 1980's!) was a Brit who could not get backing in this country.

Answer 5

I think fuel cells are likely to be the engines of the future. Their only output is water vapor. If we could find a cheap way to get the Hydrogen & Oxygen out of the water, then maybe, but otherwise no.

Answer 6

The simple answer is no. Water is basically inert, there is no reasonable method of turning water into energy unless you want to talk about fission, but I think that is overkill for powering the family car.

The more complex answer is that hydrogen when burned PRODUCES nothing but water. It is likely that cars will eventually run on Hydrogen, in fact some already do. Hydrogen can be easily produced by breaking water apart with electricity.

Answer 7

Over time it has been possible to harness the wind, sunlight and water to produce energy of some kind; namely electricity.Why not apply the same principle to create an engine that can harness the benefits of water?It keeps us alive after all, so there must be some power to it lol.Anyway this guy has created what he calls HHO2 where he has combined water with electricity or more specifically the atomic power of hydrogen and the satability of water to create his HHO2 gas.

THE CLIP BELOW MAY BE OF SOME INTEREST!

Answer 8

i know of a way to run a car off of fishing pool water, but the car has to be made the old way. meaning with a carbarator no electronics.

it long and drawn out. basic electrical currant and two carbon rods used to boil the water spliting the hydrogen and oxigen. let the vapors enter into engine through carbarator. the spark plugs will eginit the hydrogen.this will only work after the car has reached operating tempitor, so it dont recondines back to water. slowly turn the gas off and watch it work.

Answer 9

Problem with a lot of these technologies is that currently you have to "charge" the water and the charging takes more energy per unit than just using peterol. I am not saying we won't perfect the technology at some point I just think it is a long way off.

Answer 10

Well, for alternative fuels, look to the U.S.

Yes, this is a bit ironic, but they have cars over there that are electric (and they are popular as well), and they also have various other alternative fuels, like Biodiesel (like diesel, but from plant oil/animal fat) and even hydrogen.

You sound like you have a hunger for all things green, so head over to treehugger.com, or hugg.com.