Quote:
Originally Posted by oil pan 4
How so?
The engine doesn't care where the hydrogen comes from.
What are we missing?
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You focus on the engine's fuel as if they are separate and non-interactive, but that is not what is taught in graduate level classical combustion.
This can be seen in EGR. Small traces of recirculated CO2 and H2O can change the combustion characteristics of the fuel/air mix. Large amounts result in the heat capacity quench as the dominant effect along with oxygen depletion.
Small quantities of water injection result in a portion of the water going through thermolysis and producing active radicals such as H+ and OH- which are part of the precursors to the final oxidation step. This changes your combustion characteristics, that is until so much water is added that heat capacity quench becomes the dominant characteristics. You have threads on this forum touting the effectiveness of water injection for mileage purposes.
The so called HHO generators produce hydrogen and oxygen that easily form the active radicals. Along with the small amount of water these inefficient generators produce, you have the ability to form effective amounts of active radicals to change the combustion characteristics under the right set of parameters.