Engineering students develop bike that runs on hydrogen

For a litre, the bike runs 148 km, they claim

NEW JOURNEY:The hydrogen-powered bike designed by students of RVS School of Engineering and Technology in Dindigul.

Students of Automobile Engineering Department of RVS School of Engineering and Technology have designed a bike that runs on hydrogen. For one litre hydrogen, the bike runs 148 km.

A team of students – R. Balaji, Gowthem Raj, Jerry George and Kalid Ibrahim – has designed a bike that addressed global warming and high-level air pollution. “Today, the world needs eco-friendly alternative fuel to operate vehicles. We have analysed the scope of hydrogen as supplementary fuel in a four-stroke bike,” the team members say.

Their Assistant Professor and project guide P. Lakshmanan was instrumental in converting their thought into action. With a simple technology, all existing vehicles can be modified to run on hydrogen. The cost of hydrogen as fuel is very cheap when compare to other fuels. Hydrogen gas costs just Rs. 30 per litre.

The life of the engine is increased manyfold as this dry gas does not leave behind any residue during combustion. Above all, it restricts tuning of the engine when compared to other fuel engines.

Hydrogen that has the highest energy content by weight and the lowest energy content by volume, is the lightest element at normal temperature and pressure. Hydrogen is also a fuel with heat content nearly three times that of gasoline. “It is abundantly available. In our experimental set-up, after every 1,000 km of running of engine, water needs to be cleaned and new distilled water has to be taken to a certain level and again it has to be fitted into the vehicle,” says Balaji.

It reduces emission, ensures low maintenance and is suitable for petrol, diesel or LPG engines. It also enhances the average life of the engine, and reduces engine noise and vibration. We have conducted two tests – experiment test with a rig and a road test with a two-wheeler, adds Raj.

The total cost of the vehicle is just Rs. 7,000. No modification in engine is needed to convert it into an eco-friendly one.

Blending of any other fuel is not required. This project has opened an avenue for further research in developing a new technique required to run the vehicle continuously without maintenance, he adds.