Separate the water, burn the hydrogen, assuming complete combustion--
H + O2 + heat = H20 I'm not sure if that is the correct stoichiometric formula but it sure sounds good.....
The balanced equation would be (2)H2 + O2 = (2)H2O, doesn't change the point of your post, thought you may want to know. While on the chemistry topic, not all chemical reactions produce heat. While exothermic reactions produce heat, others are endothermic, such as the "ice packs" used in first aid kits--two chemicals are mixed and the reaction pulls heat from its environment, making them cold to the touch.
Well I am trying to build a electrolysis hydrogen kit with the magazine I work for.
After the testing is completed and the article is selected for publishing, would you tell us the magazine and the month of issue? I would be very interested to read the article!
Your HHO process CAN'T work - as has been pointed out, the water disassociation reaction takes more external energy than will be released when the hydrogen and oxygen are re-associated (combusted). If this wasn't true, someone would have built a perpetual motion machine ages ago. Many have tried - ALL have failed.
Becareful what you say CAN'T work. According to physics, a bumble bee CAN'T fly, yet it does.
A perpetual motion machine does not exist because it cannot use additional energy from any other source. The HHO device DOES use additional energy from its environment, gasoline is that source.
If the gasoline internal combustion engine was 100% efficient, then the mpg would decrease with the addition of the HHO system as more energy is consumed to separate the hydrogen-oxygen bond than is produced combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce water.
But gasoline engines are not 100% efficient! I don't know the efficiency, but I recall hearing the efficiency is very low, below 25%. This means there is a lot of energy wasted by the system.
Additionally, the alternator is not 100% efficient and by this I mean it does not produce just enough energy to power the car. It produces more electricity than is needed and the excess is stored in the battery or bled off. If the alternator produced just enough energy, then underdrive pulleys would not work.
My theory on the HHO system is the alternator produces more electricity than it needs and the excess electricity (energy) is used to separate the H-O bonds in the water molecule. In this case, the energy put into the HHO system is waste energy from the gasoline engine. (an overdesigned alternator may produce the additional electricity needed, yet an alternator that barely meets the car's normal demand may not result in gains from the HHO system).
I am still skeptical of the process and am therefore very interested in the findings of PhychoSteve's article.
While it will be very unlikely I will add this system (if proven successful) to my 2005 Mustang GT, it will likely be added to my 90 Miata or my 93 F150.
I almost have first hand knowledge of someone using the HHO system. The brother-in-law of my wife's coworker has the HHO "contraption" added to his vehicle is he claims to be getting about 35% better gas mileage, from 25 mpg to almost 35 mpg. I know there are many variables that will change individual results but this is enough to get my attention and look for additional confirmation.
I will continue to monitor the HHO discussion (here and on the rest of the net)