Hydrogen powered cars - will the release of water vapour lead to increase in humidity and make roads wet?

Question

Picture this, you're in a traffic jam in your hydrogen powered car, idling away, shooting water vapour out of your exhaust.. Just how much water is being released? If it's a warm day will it increase the humidity in the local area, and if so by how much, will it make the local weather sticky and yuck?

Say it's a cold day and the water is condensing as it leaves the exhaust, will it be enough to make the road wet, if there is enough cars on the road will it be like driving in the rain?

Say it's below freezing out, will the water condense and turn to slippery ice on the road?

Thanks wise people.

Answer 1

The water released will be negligible...In cold temps on busy highways, salt will be used. The local climate will not change.

Answer 2

I built a hydrogen generator and had it on my Ford ZX2 and it worked really well.. actually well enough that I could take the key out of the ignition and rev it up with no detonation after it had been running for 5-10 mins. I had to put a switch that would shut down the generator a few minutes before I tried to shut the car off. It is no blue smoke and mirrors technology and doesn't need a lot of current to accomplish enough hydrogen production to gain an extra 20+% increase in mileage.

As far as the question about slick roads in winter or high humidity in summer because of the water vapor emissions, the water vapor from the exhaust can be condensed back to water and reused if it came down to it. Take it one step further and collect the water released from the air conditioner and run it into the hydrogen generator also.

If you think this is far fetched and way out there technology, consider yourself brainwashed. I have seen a 30mpg car achieve 100mpg venting the hydrogen into the airbox. and letting the computer compensate for it. Does this actually make the car get 100mpg... NO.. because you are using two fuels simultaneously, and you are only calculating the mpg on the gasoline useage but I am certainly not complainin!. The technology is and has been around for years, but how do you collect taxes on something that you can fill the car up with with a garden hose.. things like this are the biggest hurdles that hold it back.

Answer 3

When gasoline engines burn hydrocarbons (gasoline) the resulting byproducts are Carbon Dioxide gas and Water vapor:

2 (HC) + 3 (02) = 2 (C02) + 2 (H2O)

We are already filling the air with heated water vapor. Have you ever noticed the steam from the tail pipe on a cold day? How many million gallons of oil have we already converted to Carbon Dioxide and Water?

If you are talking about a fuel cell, you may be correct that the water produced will not be a vapor, but a liquid and may present problems on the road surface. A fuel cell is just a very fancy battery that can be easily refueled. I hope that a better technology will be found to power electric motors.

If you are talking about burning hydrogen then the result would be heated water vapor like the gasoline engine - but burning hydrogen is a risky buisiness.

Answer 4

This is an intriguing concept -- a generator that uses hydrogen, placed in a remote area. It provides both electricity for the people who live around it, plus pure water for irrigation. This is a completely feasible concept. The big remaining question is whether or not it would be cost-effective. It would need to be compared to alternative irrigation methods, such as piping in water; also compare to alternative methods of providing power to remote areas (overhead powerlines, etc). Would it be simpler to bring hydrogen out to a farm than to bring water (particularly if you're getting both power AND water from it)? Since large-scale use of hydrogen power is unfortunately far off in the future, it might be quite some time before the question can be answered adequately. Thanks for a very interesting question! :-)

Answer 5

Its a very well thought my friend! but let me ask you this: would you rather be sweatty or inhale carbon-monoxide fumes ? by the way hydrogen is chemically form of : H2O; liquid hydro burns with O2 to compressurized , therefore how can it release water vaporization again? It needs both, correct?

Answer 6

ROTFLMFAO

You must be a Liberal. NOBODY else would look for something to fear from something as clean as hydrogen.

LMAO

Answer 7

mmm. interesting question. something to ponder i think...