BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a high efficiency water reformer system that generates hydrogen and oxygen from water, and more specifically, to a hydrogen and oxygen generation system which utilizes pulsed High Voltage emf to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen from pre-stressed water molecules to produce hydrogen on-demand.

2. Description of Related Art

All materials have three phases (solid, liquid and gas), but water has many unique properties. Solid water (ice) floats instead of sinks unlike other materials, because the density of solid water is lower than the density of liquid water. Moreover, water is an extremely tiny molecule having a disproportionately large electric dipole moment.

Conventional prior art hydrogen and oxygen generation systems require electrolysis, which is a very low efficiency process consuming far more energy than could ever be recuperated in fuel cells or internal combustion engines.

Electrolysis is the chemical decomposition of water produced by passing a low voltage current through the liquid water with an added electrolyte to produce hydrogen and oxygen, which can then be burned in a combustion engine or fed into a fuel cell to generate energy. Conventional electrolysis systems require electrolytes (e.g., sulfuric acid) to be added to the water, then current is passed through the water until enough energy is supplied to dissociate the hydrogen ions from the oxygen ions, which then combine with each other to become diatomic H2and O2.

Oxygen is attracted to the Anode (+) and Hydrogen is attracted to the Cathode (−) terminal. As an example,FIG. 1shows the process used in a typical electrolytic cell.

Water is a polar molecule. The H2O molecule has a net dipole moment which is a vector sum. Oxygen has a lone pair of electrons in its outer shell causing the structure of the H2O molecule to be bent (VSEPR theory developed by Gillespie-Nyholm); therefore, the vectors representing the dipole moment of each H—O bond sum instead of cancelling out.

The water molecule diagram inFIG. 2illustrates the magnitude and direction of the dipole moment. The difference in electronegativity between water and hydrogen is 1.2 e for each of the H—O bonds. The oxygen is the more electronegative atom; therefore, it exerts a greater pull on the shared electrons. In chemistry, the dipole moment points from the center point between the two hydrogen atoms toward the oxygen atom. The dipole moment is calculated by multiplying the distance between the oxygen and hydrogen atoms by the charge difference between them and then finding the components of each that point in the direction of the net dipole moment (the angle of the molecule is 104.5°). The bond moment of O—H bond=1.5 Debye, so the net dipole moment vector sum is: μ=2(1.5)cos(104.5°/2)=3 cos(52.25°)=1.8546 Debye, where 1 Debye equals 3.34×10−30Cm.

Water is an incredibly small molecule when compared to other molecules. Its approximate diameter is 2.75 Angstroms; therefore, a dipole moment of 1.8546 Debye is huge for a molecule this tiny. The moment arm is almost non-existent, so the charge differential is huge compared to other molecules.

The Debye defines the dipole moment. A proton and electron 100 μm apart have a dipole moment of 4.80 D by definition:

μ=(1.60×10-29⁢C·m)⁢(1⁢D3.336×10-30⁢C·m)=4.80⁢D

According to the molecule size shown inFIG. 2, in a water molecule equivalency the average vector sum of the H charges moment arm would be ((93.9+92.8)/2)×cos(104.5/2)=57.02 μm.

Calculating the dipole moment based on this moment arm, assuming charges of +1 and −1, yields: μ=57.02/100(4.80 D)=2.737 D

Because it is known that the water molecule is 1.8546 D, using the partial charge values of Q+ and Q− or δ+ and δ− relative to a full proton and a full electron: 1.85 D/2.737 D=0.6759. Therefore, the water molecule is equivalent to roughly ⅔ of a proton charge and ⅔ of an electron charge, spaced 57 μm apart. This makes the water molecule very susceptible to stretching by a large E field.FIG. 3represents the H2O equivalent dipole.

The energy necessary to dissociate the water molecule is illustrated inFIG. 4, using the standard quantum mechanical “Morse Potential” model.

Dissociation of the HO—H bond of a water molecule of H2O requires 118.8 kcal/mol (497.1 kJ/mol). The dissociation of the remaining hydroxyl radical requires 102.8 kcal/mol (429.9 kJ/mol). This is almost four times the theoretical minimum energy of 237.13 kJ/mole, which is the standard Gibbs free energy of formation of water.

The water molecule is so highly polarized that it lends itself to dissociation by a very strong electric field which creates a strong electromotive force (emf), stretching the molecules apart.

An electric field between charged parallel conductors is a good example of the relationship between Work and voltage.

A high voltage creates a strong force in an electric field, where

E=Vd
(FIG. 5). The SI unit of electric field strength is N/C, where N represents Newtons and C represents Coulombs.

An electric field is also defined as the force per unit charge,

E=Fq,
so multiplying the field times the plate separation yields the work per unit charge,

Ed=Fdq=Wq=Δ⁢⁢V,
which is by definition the change in voltage. So, the higher the voltage, the more Work is done.

A high enough electric field causes dissociation of water because of the strong polarization of water molecules.FIG. 6illustrates the J-V (current-voltage characteristic, divided by area) curve for pure water. The section of the curve at position A is due to the electrode kinetics for H2and O2evolution in a low conductance solution. In this region, the current is limited by the solution resistance. The next portion of the curve (position B) represents the dissociation of the water molecules. The electric field is high enough to cause the ionization and dissociation of the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen.

FIG. 6illustrates the force of high voltage pulling water molecules apart. However, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that it is not necessary for any current to flow closed loop from the Voltage source. The current is merely a result of the strong emf acting on the highly polarized water molecules causing protons and electrons to break apart and begin moving. This appears to be a huge current flow, but the distance it flows is infinitesimally small, on the order of nanometers when dissociation occurs and the water molecules become gases and begin rising upward. The laws of physics are not violated. They are merely leveraged to the maximum extent to overcome the Morse Potential causing a discontinuity breaking apart the water molecules.

Prior art systems and methods for dissociating hydrogen and oxygen from water molecules for use in energy systems are inefficient and consume far more energy than could be recuperated. Therefore, a need exists for an improved hydrogen and oxygen generation system which does not use electrolysis, and which is more efficient and consumes less energy than conventional electrolysis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved hydrogen and oxygen generation system which does not use electrolysis.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved system for dissociating hydrogen and oxygen from water molecules for use in energy systems.

A further object of the invention is to provide a water reformer that provides hydrogen on-demand.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a hydrogen and oxygen generation system which utilizes pulsed High Voltage emf to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen from pre-stressed water molecules to produce hydrogen on-demand.

Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

The above and other objects, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, are achieved in the present invention which is directed in one aspect to a method of dissociating hydrogen and oxygen from a water molecule, comprising isolating a predetermined volume of water between concentrically-mounted electrodes; applying a magnetic field across the predetermined volume of water, the magnetic field focused radially and attracting diametrically across the electrodes; exciting water molecules in the isolated volume of water to a resonant harmonic frequency; and synchronously applying short burst high voltage, high frequency AC pulse packets to the isolated volume of water to create an electric field. The AC pulse packets have a burst width of up to 1 millisecond and a voltage up to about 10 MV and generate an oscillating electromotive force which acts on the excited water molecules to dissociate hydrogen and oxygen. The method may further include separating the hydrogen and oxygen in a storage chamber.

In one embodiment, the water molecules in the isolated volume of water are excited by synchronously pulsing the isolated volume of water with a 1 to 6 micron MIR laser. In another embodiment, the water molecules are excited by heating the molecules using a heating coil to a temperature up to about 90° C.

In at least one embodiment, the magnetic field may be between about 1 Tesla to about 2 Tesla, and the electric field may be between about 1 MV/mm to about 10 MV/mm.

In an embodiment, the concentrically-mounted electrodes comprise a rod having an outer diameter disposed within a pipe or tube having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the rod, and the predetermined volume of water is isolated between the rod outer diameter and pipe inner diameter. A plurality of concentrically-mounted electrodes may be wired in parallel, such that each pair of pipes receives maximum voltage.

The method may comprise changing the AC pulse packet frequency in real-time using a closed loop control technique; and adjusting the AC pulse packet frequency to a resonant frequency of the water molecules. The frequency of the AC pulse packets may be varied using a PID loop to achieve convergence to maximize output.

In another aspect, the present invention is directed to a high efficiency hydrogen oxygen generation system, comprising a means to generate short burst high frequency AC pulse packets up to 1 millisecond total burst width up to 10 MV synchronized with pulses from a 1 to 6 micron MIR laser to excite a water column approximately 1 mm thick inside concentric pipe electrodes, generating an avalanche of hydrogen and oxygen gases. The system may further comprise a means to apply a magnetic field across the water column, the magnetic field focused radially and attracting diametrically across the concentric pipe electrodes.

In at least one embodiment, the magnetic field may be between about 1 Tesla to about 2 Tesla, and the short burst high frequency AC pulse packets generate an electric field between about 1 MV/mm to about 10 MV/mm.

The system may further comprise a means to change the AC pulse packet frequency and duration in real-time and adjust the frequency to the resonant frequency by utilizing a microprocessor, software, PID loop, digital potentiometers, voltage sensors, current sensors, temperature sensors, and Direct Digital Synthesizers, in a closed loop control technique and methodology.

In an embodiment, the system may further comprise a means to separate the hydrogen and oxygen gases in a storage chamber.

