City student develops device to convert water into fuel

A city-based engineering graduate has developed a simple yet innovative device that converts water into fuel to run a petrol engine. The kit, besides increasing the mileage of the vehicle, helps in reducing air pollution.

N Sajid, MTech student of Thermal Power Engineering at the Visvesvaraya Technological University PG Centre, Hanchya, Sathgalli, under the guidance of Mallikarjunayya C Math, associate professor, has developed the kit as part of his academic project.

The kit converts water into fuel and can be used with petrol engine vehicles. The test drive has shown an increase in the mileage of the engine up to 35%.

Explaining about the functioning of the unit, Sajid said, the kit consists of an electrolysis unit, water storage tank and a standard battery.

The electrolysis kit is developed with steel plates, fastened between two fibre plates, separated by insulating sheets. These plates are connected to the terminals of the battery. An inlet pipe is connected from the water tank for the flow of water into the electrolysis unit, where the water gets split into hydrogen and oxygen.

The separated hydrogen returns to the water tank from the outlet pipe of the electrolysis unit and accumulates at the top of the water tank due to density differences. The accumulated hydrogen is supplied to the inlet manifold of the combustion chamber through the outlet pipe, connected on the top of the water tank, he explained.

He says the test drive of the vehicle fitted with the innovative kit has shown an increase in the mileage of the vehicle up to 35% in normal conditions with an average speed of 50 km per hour. Sajid said, he has invested approximately Rs 8,000 for the unit.

His guide, Mallikarjunayya C Math said, the technology can be used by common people as it does not require any modification in the engine design and the technology can also be improvised with additional research in the field. The innovative development also helps in reducing air pollution and increase the mileage of petrol engine cars, he added.