Are you going to get relief from expensive petrol and diesel?
No, we are not talking about the cliché of electric vehicles. Rather, here we
are talking about green fuels, which include options like ethanol and hydrogen.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has expressed confidence
that green fuel will be used in all vehicles in the country after five years.
According to Gadkari, ethanol is now easily available in the country. 70
percent of petrol in the country is consumed by two-wheelers. In such a
situation, there is a need to develop domestic technology for flex fuel
vehicles.
This engine uses a type of fuel mixture sensor i.e. fuel blender
sensor. It adapts itself according to the amount of fuel in the mixture. This
sensor reads the ratio of ethanol / methanol / gasoline, or the alcohol
concentration of the fuel. It then sends a signal to the electronic control
module and this control module then controls the delivery of different fuels.
Vehicles with flex engines are quite different from vehicles with bi-fuel
engines. Bi-fuel engines have separate tanks, whereas in flex fuel engines you
can put many types of fuel in the same tank. These engines are designed in a
special way.In a car with flex engine, gasoline can be used with ethanol and
gasoline can be used with methanol. In this, the engine designs it according to
itself. Currently, ethanol is mostly used in it. Such cars are used a lot in
Brazil, America, Canada and Europe.
The first question that must be arising in your mind is that
right now the emphasis is being laid on bringing electric cars. Then how will
this hydrogen car be different from them? Let us tell you that there is a big
difference between an electric car and a hydrogen car. An electric car has a
large lithium ion battery. The motor in the car powers the wheels by taking
energy from it. But this is not the case with hydrogen cars. It does have a
battery but it is very small. It has a hydrogen fuel tank in which hydrogen
fuel cells disintegrate and produce energy. The battery in it stores that
energy for some time and delivers it to the electric motor. That is, hydrogen
acts as fuel in it. It does not have to be charged, rather hydrogen fuel is
filled in it from a special hydrogen filling station. One of its features is
very good.
Benefits of hydrogen
fuel
Hydrogen fuel is more effective because it converts chemical
energy directly into electrical energy. The emissions from hydrogen fuel cell
cars are also much less and cleaner than those from conventional fuel cars. It
takes several hours to charge the battery in a normal electric car. But
hydrogen gets filled in just 5 to 7 minutes. It also gives a very good range. A
journey of up to 650 km can be covered with a full tank of hydrogen fuel. It
can be called a completely zero emission car because only water comes out in
the emission.
Challenges for
hydrogen cars
Hydrogen fuel is pollution free. Also, it can cover a distance
of 600 km once the tank is full, but the challenges are not less with it.
Hydrogen gas is extremely flammable. In such a situation, when it is filled
completely in the fuel tank, there is a risk of an accident while driving. If
the tank blasts, it can cause heavy damage by taking the surrounding area of
10 meters in its range. Therefore, this fuel tank is made very strong. This
also increases the price of these vehicles. Hydrogen fuel is also expensive
compared to petrol and diesel.
