Hydrogen Gas Powered Smart Generator (Prototype)

Project Title

Hydrogen Gas Powered Smart Generator (Prototype)

Project Area of Specialization Electrical/Electronic EngineeringProject Summary

Generating electricity from renewable resources is a field of interest nowadays. The increasing requirement of the world’s power consumption is fulfilled over 80% utilizing fossil fuels. These methods of generating electricity are emitting a large amount of CO2 gases which are not eco-friendly and responsible for global warming at an alarming level. The concentration of CO2 can be reduced to a greater extent by introducing renewable technologies. As renewable resources like wind, solar, biomass, tidal and geothermal are being used by different countries of the world to generate electricity as an alternative for fossil fuels but they are very expensive, climate-dependent and less efficient as compared to fossil fuel technologies. In this project we are focusing on renewable resource (hydrogen gas) used for the power generation because it will be producing electricity with least CO2 emissions as compared to conventional fuels which will protect our environment, also this technology is less expensive because the fuel (H2 gas) is being produced is cheaper and equipment used is less expensive and easily available in market. We are making a prototype for the power generation using hydrogen gas as fuel. H2 gas will be produced by the chemical reaction of scrap aluminum and water in the presence of NaOH as a catalyst and this reaction is exothermic so it will produce heat as well as some by-products. The gas will be passed from 3 different steps for cooling, vapors removal and purification as produced gas will have water vapors and by-product gases. This prototype consists of a gas engine, alternator (DC output), step-up transformer (DC to AC), bubble filter (for removal of water vapors), carbon filter (for gas purification), a cooling unit (for the desired temperature of gas) and electronic equipment (capacitor, rectifier, etc.). Our system will be automated by using different kinds of sensors (temperature, pressure, and CO2 emission detector, etc.) which will be interfaced with a computer web page by using Arduino. This system will provide the facility to show a large amount of live data of the running system.

Project Objectives

We aim to make a smart generator with least CO2 emissions and low per-unit cost electricity in which we will use hydrogen gas as a fuel to operate our generator and making the whole process automatic

The key project objectives are stated below:

1. To generate electricity with an alternative fuel.
2. To develop a new uncomplicated means of direct hydrogen gas production with scrap aluminum.
3. To generate electricity at a low cost.
4. To generate eco-friendly power.
5. To develop a power generating system for commercial and domestic use which will be easy to use.
6. To make a prototype automatic by using Arduino as an interface between prototype and computer web page for live data of different variables.

Project Implementation Method

Our project is based on generating electricity with renewable and alternative fuel, for that we will first produce hydrogen gas from the chemical reaction of aluminum, water, and Castaic soda.

2AL+2NaoH+6H2O -------------->2NaAL (OH)4+3H2

Although the reaction is exothermic and will produce lots of heat and chemical vapors, we then run the gas through a long copper pipe which will act as an condenser to remove the heat of the vapors and then it would pass through water bubble and carbon filter so that it would clean out any remaining hazardous chemical gases which are produced along with the hydrogen gas in the chemical reaction.

Hydrogen gas then runs into the engine intake and is used as the fuel to run the generator.

We will then use different sensors like temperature sensors, pressure sensor and a CO2 emission sensor for making our prototype automatic and safe.

The process will use the sensor feedback to control the working of the prototype automatically.

Benefits of the Project

The more we learn about generating power with alternative fuel (renewable) the more we appreciate its benefits.

The following are the benefits of the hydrogen gas-powered smart generator prototype.

• Power generation at a relatively low cost compared to fossil fuels.
• Generating electricity with a renewable resource.
• Hydrogen gas is produced using scrap aluminum it will reduce the overall cost of the per-unit cost of electricity as it is easily available and cheap.
• Generating electricity with less CO2 emission which is eco-friendly.
• A safe and easy to operate power generating system for commercial and domestic use.
• An automatic power generating system with live data of different variables.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

The final product is a prototype that will generate power from hydrogen gas and is fully automated by different integrated sensors and will show live data on the web page. It involves a reaction chamber in which hydrogen gas will be produced, condenser which will act as a heat exchanger, filters to remove by-product gases, engine and alternator for generation of electricity, electronic circuit and transformer for AC output and also a DC output, pressure sensor for checking the pressure of the gas, temperature sensor for checking the temperature of the gas, CO2 emission sensor for checking the CO2 emission and vibration sensor for checking the vibration of the generator, flow sensor for the measure of gas flow between gas kit and generator. All of these sensors will be connected with Arduino which will be connected to PC and a web page will be developed which will show all the integrated sensors live data readings on that web page.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry Energy Other Industries Others Core Technology Clean TechOther Technologies Internet of Things (IoT)Sustainable Development Goals Affordable and Clean EnergyRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	79007
Four stroke 36cc generator	Equipment	1	17000	17000
Brushless motor (Alternator)	Equipment	1	7500	7500
Reaction chamber (cylinder)	Equipment	1	12000	12000
Temperature sensor	Equipment	2	1200	2400
Flow sensor	Equipment	2	1200	2400
Vibration sensor	Equipment	2	500	1000
Relay Module	Equipment	2	150	300
Voltage Sensor	Equipment	2	500	1000
Current Sensor	Equipment	2	500	1000
LED's	Miscellaneous	5	20	100
Soldering Wire	Miscellaneous	1	120	120
CO2 Sensor	Equipment	2	5000	10000
Electric Valve	Equipment	2	1000	2000
Battery 50AH	Miscellaneous	2	800	1600
Wiring/Jumpers/Connectors	Miscellaneous	50	20	1000
Buck Converter	Equipment	2	150	300
Solder	Miscellaneous	1	400	400
Housing/Box/Case	Miscellaneous	1	1000	1000
Battery Charger	Equipment	1	700	700
Wi-Fi Module	Equipment	2	1200	2400
Arduino Nano	Equipment	2	500	1000
Digital Pressure Sensor/Gauge	Equipment	2	1500	3000
Gas kit	Equipment	1	1200	1200
Step Up Transformer (AC)	Equipment	1	1500	1500
Copper Coil 4.5mm	Miscellaneous	35	85	2975
Water Pump 12v DC	Equipment	1	800	800
DC fan 12v	Equipment	1	500	500
Bubble filter	Equipment	1	600	600
Carbon filter	Equipment	1	800	800
PVC gaspipe 8.5mm	Miscellaneous	32	16	512
DC circuit	Equipment	1	600	600
Caustic Soda (NaoH)	Miscellaneous	2	200	400
Scrap Aluminum	Miscellaneous	2	50	100
AC switch board	Miscellaneous	1	800	800