LeefH2 Debunked.

The LeefH2 device from HNO Green Fuels is nothing but a scam for one simple reason. The laws of thermodynamics say you can't make something out of nothing. Even ignoring this simple fact, there are plenty more inconsistencies in the LeefH2 claims.
To begin, I'll break it down step by step. The easiest way to poke holes in this fraudulent claim is to focus on the maths, which is just plain wrong in many aspects.
Please note I have done all calculations in this proof in imperial, because the company is American and all provided measurements are already in imperial.


To begin with, their major claim throughout the campaign is that their unit will produce 1 pound of oxygen per day. Upon more thorough quizzing on the company's Twitter, I was told this claim related to the larger HVU (high volume unit) operating in a public transit bus for a full day shift of approximately 7 hours (personally I think this is false advertising, as the campaign is focused at consumer cars, while the 1lb of oxygen can only be produced by a larger unit in a well used bus, but let's ignore that for now.)


So let's start with some simple science:

1.	What is water?
Water (H2O) is made up of 2 hydrogen atoms bonded with one oxygen atom in this configuration: H--O--H
When electrolysis is used to split water into its base elements, the bonds between the atoms are broken to release the gases. This requires a certain amount of energy to do, as molecules do not like to be broken down easily.

2.	How much does it weigh?
Hydrogen is quite light, just a tad over 1g per Mole (a unit of measurement often used in describing the weight of chemical substances), while Oxygen is a bit heavier, just a tad under 16g per Mole. Add them together; H(x2) + O = 18g/mol, which of course is the Molar weight of water.

3.	So how much water do we need to make our fabled 1lb. of oxygen?
Bit trickier maths now, but using WolframAlpha, I discovered that you need 17.27fl oz. of water to produce our 1lb. of oxygen. This is the same as saying that properly mixed cordial is made of 1fl oz. cordial concentrate, and 4fl oz. water, making a 5fl oz. drink.
That 17.27fl oz. of water by the way, contains just 0.126lbs. of hydrogen, which is just under 16 times lighter than oxygen. Lo and behold, 17.27fl oz. of water weighs in at 1.126lbs, the combined weight of the hydrogen and oxygen.

And here arises our second inconsistency. HNO Green Fuels claim you don't need to top up the water for weeks, even months as listed on one of their gallery photos, yet the 50fl oz container they use only holds enough to produce about 3lbs. of oxygen, and around 0.365lbs. of hydrogen. If this device works, you have to fill it up a lot, although water is cheap, so that's not really an issue, just inconvenient.


Now for some complex science, and maths!

4.	How much energy do you need to split water into hydrogen and oxygen?
Electrolysis of water requires a minimum of 237 kJ of energy per mol.
17.27fl oz. of water is 28.35 mol, meaning the energy required to produce 1 pound of oxygen (and 0.126 pounds of hydrogen) is 6.719 MJ (6.719×10^6 J).
Fun fact; according to Wolfram Alpha, this is about as much energy as consumed by an Apple iPhone 5 in 6 months.

5.	How much energy is in diesel fuel compared to hydrogen?
Diesel fuel has a higher energy density than regular gasoline, approximately 1.3574x10^8 J/gal, compared to 1.2181x10^8 J/gal for regular gasoline, while hydrogen has an energy density of only 3.8043x10^4 J/gal. This means diesel fuel contains over 3500 times more energy than gaseous hydrogen. Although hydrogen has a much higher MJ/lbs. than conventional fuel, this is because its gaseous form is so light, it takes 1330 gallons to make 1lb.

6.	How much diesel fuel would be required to produce our 1 pound of oxygen?
Let’s assume a best case scenario here. The very best direct injection diesel engines, the most efficient type, operate at maximum around 50% thermal efficiency, meaning we require 200% work to achieve the same result. Now for a second, let’s imagine all of the power of this engine is pumped directly into the LeefH2 device and used at 100% efficiency with no heat loss from here on in. Using our previously calculated figures;
	6.719×106 J   ÷   (1.3574x10^8 J/gal   x   50%)   ≈   0.0990 gal   =   12.670fl oz. of diesel fuel.
You read that correctly, assuming 50% efficiency of the engine, somehow directing all of that power to a 100% efficient alternator, then to the LeefH2 device, you need 12.670fl oz. of diesel fuel to convert 17.27fl oz. of water into 1lb of oxygen and 0.126lbs of hydrogen. The oxygen is thrown straight out into the air to breathe, so let’s hope that 0.126lbs of hydrogen can do some good to reclaim our 12.670fl oz. of fuel!

7.	So how much of a boost does the engine get from that minute amount of Hydrogen?
Unfortunately for you LeefH2, not nearly enough. As previously mentioned, the energy density of gaseous hydrogen is only 3.8043x10^4 J/gal, meaning that our 0.126lbs of hydrogen produces 6.391x10^6 J, a bit short of the 1.3438x10^7 J (6.719x10^6 J x 200%) we needed to make the stuff in the first place, 7.047x10^6 J short in fact, and remember that was assuming best case scenario 50% efficient engine, and 100% efficiency on the remaining variables.
Just a quick note, even if the engine somehow ran at 100% fuel efficiency, something that is not possible in a combustion engine of any sort, it would still fall slightly short due to one important fact. If you take the hydrogen out of water, burn it in air (i.e., oxygen), you are simply returning it to water, with the exception that you have lost heat energy from the combustion process.


Now to use these results in a real world engine. Using our knowledge that the HVU produces 1lb. of oxygen in a transit bus, I decided to use a Detroit Diesel Series 50, one of the most common diesel bus engines in the USA. This engine is a 8.5L 4 cylinder producing 315hp.

8.	How often does this engine fire during its 7 hour journey?
For this, we need an average RPM. Luckily for us, the Idaho National Laboratory performed a thorough test of this exact engine in 2006 entitled Diesel Engine Idling Test (http://avt.inel.gov/pdf/bus_idle/bus_idle_main_report.pdf). The at-rest idle speed was found to be around 700rpm, while the highway averaged 1400rpm. As buses stop and start, let's assume an average of these two figures and say 1000rpm to be easy. The real world average rpm will most likely be higher, but we're going for best case scenario here.

9.	How much hydrogen goes into each power stroke?
It takes 7 hours to produce the fabled 1lb of oxygen, which you will remember produces 0.126lbs of hydrogen. At 1000rpm, that's 420,000 revolutions in that time. Each revolution comprises 2 powerstrokes, as it is a 4 cylinder 4-stroke engine, which means 840,000 powerstrokes in 7 hours. That means that 0.126lbs of hydrogen has to be spread of over 840,000 powerstrokes.
0.126lbs / 840,000 = 68.04 µg (micrograms) = 0.757mL of H2

10.	How much is that as a percentage of the cylinder volume?
To find out the percentage of hydrogen in each cylinder, we need to find each cylinders capacity. This is quite easy; capacity of the engine / number of cylinders x volumetric efficiency (1 means 100% efficiency, while most diesel engines operate at 0.9 VE)
8.5L / 4 x 0.9 = 1.913L, just a tad shy of the full cylinder capacity of 2.25L
Take that with the total powerstroke figure to give us the percentage.
0.757mL / 1193mL x 100 = 0.03957%
4 hundredths of 1 percent of each powerstroke is comprised of hydrogen, presuming no leaks.

I have not conducted testing on a real world engine, I am only performing the maths behind it. I will not speculate whether 0.04% additive makes a difference to an engine, but I can tell you that it's equal to about 1 teaspoon, in 3.25 gallons.



So why doesn't this work?
Short answer; The Law of Conservation of Energy. You can't make energy out of nothing.
This has been proved time and time again with the fabled electrolysis assisted car. The traditional method of the car electrolysis scam is to create oxyhydrogen (HHO) gas and inject it directly into the engine, either as the sole fuel, or as a performance enhancer of regular gasoline. The main problem with this, other than the simple fact that it uses more energy than it creates, is that the oxygen in the HHO gas interferes with the O2 sensors in modern cars, which inject more fuel into the system because of the high oxygen reading. Not only does this method waste energy in electrolysing the water in the first place, it actually burns more fuel than it would to begin with due to the O2 sensors.
To the credit of LeefH2, they use a different method of electrolysis called Polymer Electrolyte Membrane electrolysis, which efficiently splits water into H2 and O2 separately. The oxygen is immediately discarded and only the Hydrogen is injected into the engine, thereby avoiding interference with the O2 sensor. However we are still left with the problem that it simply takes more energy to split water than can be extracted from its part, especially if 88% of it (Oxygen by weight) is immediately discarded.

Don't fall for scams like this. If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.
If a simple device like this could truly be bolted onto any standard engine, filled with water, and magically increase full economy, reduce emissions, and produce free breathable oxygen, then don't you think everyone would be using it?
Electrolysis of water is not a new technology. Water was first split into H2 and O2 as early as 1800, while the internal combustion engine wasn't even invented until 1860. The "water fueled car" has been tried many times, and never successfully.
But please, don't take my word for it, that's what got us in the mess in the first place.
Do your own research. I suggest starting with these articles;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water-fuelled_car
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fuel_enhancement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laws_of_thermodynamics


So stop lying to consumers HNO Green Fuels. Your product CANNOT scientifically work at the levels you claim. Water fueled cars are a scam because they defy the laws of thermodynamics, and those laws cannot be broken.

Anyone reading this who was unfortunate enough to sponsor this scam company, I urge you to seek a full refund.

Yours in science,

Jake Cooper