LAUSR

Hydrogen is seen as one of the important energy vectors of the century. There are several alternatives procedures to produce it in high purity; aluminum corrosion could be considered as one of the most attractive ones. The use of hydrogen derived with this process in spark-ignition engines forms a promising approach to decarbonize hydrogen production and secure domestic energy supply. This study describes the development of an experimental setup for hydrogen production and testing a SI engine in the hydrogen-fueled mode. This paper investigates the effect of aluminum thickness (specific surface) and alkali concentration on the reaction rate. The experimental results show that an increase in alkali concentration and a reduction in aluminum thickness increase hydrogen production rate. The produced hydrogen was used as fuel for a single-cylinder spark-ignition engine. The experiments were conducted under various engine speeds. It is found that hydrogen combustion produces a lower exhaust gas temperature than gasoline, although $$\hbox {NO}_{{x}}$$NOx emissions decrease about 11 times compared to gasoline. It was expected that CO, $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$CO2 and HC levels are zero when the engine is supplied with hydrogen, but it is found that there is a slight trace of CO, $$\hbox {CO}_{2}$$CO2 and HC due to combustion and evaporation of lubricant on cylinder walls.