ES2993270T3 - Gas supply system, energy converter, and method for operating a direct fuel injection internal combustion engine - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a gas supply system (10) for a direct fuel injection internal combustion engine (50), comprising an electrolyser (20) and an oxyhydrogen tank (12). An oxyhydrogen line (13) which is fluidically connected to the oxyhydrogen tank (12) is designed to be connected to a high-pressure accumulator (43) of the internal combustion engine (50). The gas supply system (10) forms part of an energy converter which further comprises the internal combustion engine (50). A water tank (30) is fluidically connected to a water inlet of the electrolyser (20) of the gas supply system (10) in the energy converter. (Automatic translation with Google Translate, without legal value)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Gas supply system, energy converter and method for operating a direct fuel injection internal combustion engine

The present invention relates to an energy converter having a gas supply system.

Prior art

For reasons of climate protection, the long-term goal is to largely abandon the combustion of fossil fuels for energy production. The previously envisaged new concepts for the production of electrical energy and for driving vehicles, however, have the disadvantage that they cannot be implemented by modernising existing power plants and motor vehicles, and require the exchange of existing technology and the creation of a new supply and distribution infrastructure. While there is, for example, the idea of driving motor vehicles using hydrogen as fuel, such motor vehicles require a fuel cell with a hydrogen pressure gas tank instead of a conventional internal combustion engine with a fuel tank, and a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure would have to be created as well as the possibility of producing hydrogen centrally and distributing it to hydrogen fuel stations.

US 2009/0320789 A1 describes a device for mixing several different fuels before feeding them into a high-pressure accumulator of an internal combustion engine. It may be envisaged herein that the device has a diesel tank and a gas tank containing hydrogen or oxyhydrogen.

WO 2020/075178 A1 describes an internal combustion engine that is operated by using oxyhydrogen. This internal combustion engine has an electrolyser whose resulting gases are first stored in a separate hydrogen tank and in an oxygen tank before they are directly mixed again before feeding an internal combustion engine.

US2007/0080070 A1 discloses an electrolyzer for producing oxyhydrogen. The oxyhydrogen is fed into a tank and then fed through pressure lines into an internal combustion engine.

In order to combat the above-mentioned problem, an object of the present invention is to provide an energy converter which can be operated by using a fuel supply system for a conventional direct injection internal combustion engine, in which the fuel provided can be produced from a base substance available everywhere and which does not require any structural changes to the internal combustion engine.

Description of the invention

This objective is solved by an energy converter having a direct injection internal combustion engine with an electrolyzer. The gas supply system additionally has an oxyhydrogen tank that stores hydrogen and oxygen from the electrolyzer. The oxyhydrogen tank has a volume in the range of 800 cm3 to 1000 cm3. It functions as an expansion tank for the gas supply of the internal combustion engine.

The gas supply system finally has an oxyhydrogen line which is fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen tank. The oxyhydrogen line is equipped to connect to a high-pressure accumulator (common rail) of the internal combustion engine.

It is further preferred that the gas supply system has an overpressure switch which is equipped to switch off the electrolyser depending on a pressure in the oxyhydrogen tank. Particularly preferred is the overpressure switch to switch off the electrolyser if a pressure threshold in the region of 400 hPa to 800 hPa is reached. This overpressure switch has the advantage that, on the one hand, a sufficient reserve of oxyhydrogen in the oxyhydrogen tank is guaranteed so that sufficient oxyhydrogen can be made available even in the event of a sudden load change of the internal combustion engine and, on the other hand, the pressure in the oxyhydrogen tank is so limited that said oxyhydrogen tank does not need to have a high-pressure resistance and that the amount of oxyhydrogen stored cannot lead to a dangerous deflagration in the event of a leak.

It is further preferred that the gas supply system also has a pressure reducer which is arranged in the oxyhydrogen line. Thus, an oxyhydrogen gas flow fed to the high-pressure accumulator can be adjusted to an optimum pressure for the operation of the internal combustion engine. If the direct injection internal combustion engine is a 1.4 L four-cylinder Otto engine having a nominal output of 75 kW, for example, a pressure reduction to 80 hPa is advantageous.

The electrolyser, the oxyhydrogen tank, the oxyhydrogen line and optionally the pressure switch and the pressure reducer can be implemented as a collective assembly, which represents the gas supply system and can subsequently be installed as a complete unit in the fuel supply system of an internal combustion engine. This installation can take place between a low-pressure region and a high-pressure region of the fuel supply system. The oxyhydrogen line is connected in this case to the high-pressure accumulator via a high-pressure pump of the high-pressure region. An inlet of the electrolyser is connected to a particular fuel tank via a low-pressure pump of the low-pressure region. It is preferable to install the gas supply system as close as possible to the high-pressure pump in order to keep the gas feed lines as short as possible.

In principle, the gas supply system can have a conventional electrolyser that produces hydrogen and oxygen separately. Hydrogen and oxygen can be fed into the oxyhydrogen tank via two separate gas lines. The electrolyser, which has at least one cathode and at least one anode, is different from conventional electrolysers, from which hydrogen and oxygen are removed separately, however, as it has a shared oxyhydrogen outlet. This means that the hydrogen and oxygen gases created at the cathode and anode by electrolysis can still be mixed to form oxyhydrogen in the electrolyser and then exit the electrolyser via the oxyhydrogen outlet. The oxyhydrogen tank is then fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen outlet.

The electrolyser need not correspond to any preferred design or size, but the design used must allow the described functionality. The size of the electrolyser depends on the purpose of use and is not subject to a minimum or maximum size. In one embodiment, the electrolyser has a cylindrical circular housing. A water inlet is arranged on a circular surface and the oxyhydrogen outlet is arranged on a lateral surface. Such an electrolyser is designed to have the longitudinal axis of its housing arranged substantially horizontally, so that water can flow into the housing along or parallel to the longitudinal axis. The housing functions simultaneously as an electrolysing chamber and as a collection chamber for the hydrogen and oxygen gases created by electrolysis, which are mixed there to form oxyhydrogen and can be fed through the oxyhydrogen outlet into the oxyhydrogen tank.

For this purpose, the oxyhydrogen outlet is preferably arranged at the installation position of the electrolyzer at its highest point.

In order to position the cathode and the anode in the housing, it is further preferred that a cuboid frame is arranged in the housing. The cathode and the anode are each arranged on a lateral surface of the frame. This arrangement of the cathode and the anode is preferably implemented in a vertical manner, so that both electrodes are immersed in the water even at a low water level in the housing. The frame is preferably fixed to the two circular surfaces of the housing. This is particularly preferably implemented by the circular surfaces each having the recesses into which the frame engages on its side facing the inside of the housing.

There are no fixed requirements for the cathode and anode material. The materials used must be good conductors and as inert as possible, however, in order to avoid wear of the cathode or anode. The cathode consists in particular of a platinum wire. Said platinum wire is preferably wound around a cathode plate of the frame. The anode consists in particular of a graphite-based foil. The anode is arranged in particular between a frame-shaped anode plate of the frame and an anode frame.

Even in the case of unintentional ignition of oxyhydrogen present in the gas supply system, this does not result in any danger, since the low amount of oxyhydrogen present at the outlet point burns rapidly with a flame, but does not explode. In the event of a leak in the gas supply system and the associated pressure drop in the oxyhydrogen tank, the gas supply system is preferably equipped to automatically shut down the electrolyser.

The energy converter has a direct injection internal combustion engine, in addition to the gas supply system, the high-pressure accumulator of said internal combustion engine is fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen line of the gas supply system. A water tank is fluidly connected to a water inlet of the electrolyzer of the gas supply system. In the operation of the energy converter, water is led out of the water tank into the electrolysis cell and oxyhydrogen is generated there by electrolysis. Said oxyhydrogen is temporarily stored in the oxyhydrogen tank and is led through the oxyhydrogen line into the high-pressure accumulator. There it is stored in the same manner as a pressurized liquid fuel of the internal combustion engine and is injected directly into the cylinder of the internal combustion engine in the same manner.

Oxyhydrogen is introduced into the combustion chamber of a cylinder in an injection stroke (stroke 1 of a 4-stroke internal combustion engine) of the internal combustion engine, compressed in a compression stroke (stroke 2) and ignited at the threshold to stroke 3. Due to the ignition of oxyhydrogen, through the creation of liquid water as a combustion product of the hydrogen/oxygen mixture, the volume of the gaseous oxyhydrogen is reduced, in an ideal scenario, to the volume of the liquid water created. This reduction in volume is calculated to be 99.5 % and leads to a decompression in the cylinder which is calculated to reach a value of 199.9:1. This value is only reached under normal conditions, and therefore at an initial temperature of 20 °C and an initial pressure of 1013.25 hPa. Under operating conditions, an actual decompression value of approximately 100:1 is reached. This decompression in the cylinder after the conversion of oxyhydrogen into water leads to a reduction in temperature and the creation of a strong vacuum in the cylinder. This vacuum must be understood as an introduction of an interference variable into the movement of the internal combustion engine.

The internal combustion engine designed as a reciprocating piston engine represents a self-closed system when the valves are closed, such a closed system being able to react to pressure changes only by upward or downward movements of the piston. If the internal combustion engine is a 4-stroke internal combustion engine, in normal use with combustion fossil fuels, the high pressure produced through combustion leads to a downward movement of the piston in stroke 3. If, however, oxyhydrogen is burned in the internal combustion engine, then a significant vacuum is produced at the end of stroke 3, which can be balanced in stroke 4 by the reciprocating piston, which in the meantime has crossed bottom dead center, only by upward movement. Since the vacuum, as described above, is very strong, a force proceeds from the latter with which the piston moves upwards to balance the vacuum created by the reduction in volume. This force is not an effect of the low overpressure created initially when oxyhydrogen is burned, but the reaction of the “internal combustion engine” system to the interference variable “decompression” after the reduction in volume of the burned oxyhydrogen to the volume of water created in the process. The internal combustion engine is therefore not driven by the combustion enthalpy of oxyhydrogen, but by the pressure change in the cylinder at the end of stroke 3. The combustion of oxyhydrogen only serves to generate a vacuum as an interference pulse. The internal combustion engine reacts in the only possible way to this interference pulse, namely by the upward movement of the piston in stroke 4. The mechanical energy created here can be extracted at the crankshaft. The energy that can be harnessed in the internal combustion engine is somewhat lower than the theoretical or calculated traction force on the piston to balance the vacuum, because the exhaust valves are already open during the upward movement of the piston in stroke 4 and therefore part of the vacuum is compensated by air entering. With the complete upward movement of the piston, the water molecules created are expelled together with the air that has flowed back.

It is preferred that the internal combustion engine drives a generator and the generator is connected to the electrolyser via an electrical connection. In this way, at least part of the energy of the internal combustion engine's movement can be converted into electrical energy with which the electrolyser can be operated. The generator can be driven directly or indirectly. In addition to driving the generator, the internal combustion engine can also drive other users.

It is further preferred that the generator is electrically connected to an energy storage which is connected to the electrolyser via the electrical connection. In order for the internal combustion engine to take over operation, it is first necessary to generate oxyhydrogen, for which the electrolyser must be supplied with electrical energy. This can be provided by the energy storage. As soon as the internal combustion engine has been started, the energy source can be charged by means of the generator, so that the energy can be retained for a subsequent renewed start of the internal combustion engine. The energy storage can also be used to operate a starter of the internal combustion engine and thus to enable the initial combustion of oxyhydrogen in a piston of the internal combustion engine.

The electrical connection between the generator and the electrolyser preferably passes through an overpressure switch of the gas supply system. If a predetermined oxyhydrogen pressure is reached in the oxyhydrogen tank, the supply of the electrolyser with electrical energy via a generator can therefore be temporarily interrupted until the pressure has been reduced once again to a degree at which further electrolysis is desired.

The internal combustion engine can be arranged in particular in a motor vehicle. The generator can be an alternator of the motor vehicle and the energy storage can be a battery of the motor vehicle. The gas supply system enables the motor vehicle to operate by burning oxyhydrogen, which is generated from water.

It is preferred that the water tank is a fuel tank of the motor vehicle. This allows the gas supply system to be installed in the fuel supply system of the motor vehicle as a retrofit element and the fuel tank to be filled with water, which is then fed into the electrolyser.

In order to give the water an optimum electrical conductivity for electrolysis, the water preferably contains at least 0.6 mmol of an alkali metal halide, in particular, for example, sodium chloride or potassium chloride, or an ammonium halide, in particular, as ammonium chloride. Sodium chloride is particularly preferably used as an electrolyte. Since the electrolyte is not depleted, the latter can in principle be deposited in the electrolyser once in order to then constantly give the required electrolyte concentration to the flowing water. This deposition can take place by a one-time filling with an electrolyte solution, whereby it is then sufficient to add water that no longer needs to contain any electrolyte to the water tank. If a user constantly fills the water tank with the electrolyte solution, this leads to an increased concentration of the electrolytes in the electrolyser until the electrolyte finally precipitates out of the saturated electrolyte solution. Since high electrolyte concentrations do not negatively influence the electrolysis, however, and since even in the case where electrolyte precipitation solids are not collected in the electrolyser that would be significant for the ratio in the internal volume of the electrolyser, such an approach is harmless.

If the fuel tank is accidentally refilled with fuel instead of water, the fuel acts in the electrolyser as an electrical insulator between the cathode and anode. No electrochemical reaction takes place in the electrolyser, and the fuel can instead be pumped through the electrolyser and the oxyhydrogen tank into the high-pressure system of the internal combustion engine, which resumes conventional operation when burning fossil fuels.

The internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle has an air supply. Since the oxyhydrogen generated by electrolysis already has the optimum mixture ratio between hydrogen and oxygen for combustion, the additional air flowing through only causes a larger volume of gas to have to be compressed and thus the power of the internal combustion engine sinks. In order to prevent this air flow, it is therefore preferred that the air supply of the internal combustion engine be closed. This can be achieved, for example, by permanently closing a throttle flap in the air supply. Provision can also be made to provide a seal in the air supply.

The sharp and significant reduction in the volume of particles in the cylinders of the internal combustion engine leads to a very significant cooling. No external cooling of the internal combustion engine is required, since the cylinders can be heated up in a very short space of time, but then cooled down significantly immediately afterwards. Thus, the cooling water pump of the internal combustion engine can be switched off. In one embodiment of the energy converter, it can be provided that the water vapour created in the internal combustion engine is condensed, and the condensed water is fed back to the water tank. Since the electrolyte is not depleted, the required electrolyte concentration can be maintained in the electrolyser even when the electrolyser is operated with condensed water.

As a consumer, the energy converter can be operated independently of ambient air or foreign oxygen, and can also be operated in a vacuum, under water or in other atmospheres. In theory, it is technically and geographically possible to use the energy converter everywhere and in all areas of use.

Brief description of the drawings

An illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and explained in more detail in the following description.

Figure 1 schematically shows a power converter according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows an isometric representation of an electrolyzer of a gas supply system of an energy converter according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 shows a side view of the electrolyzer according to Figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a sectional representation of the electrolyser according to Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows a broken-down representation of the electrolyzer according to Figure 2.

Illustrative embodiments of the invention

An energy converter according to an illustrative embodiment of the invention is depicted in Figure 1. In the present illustrative embodiment, this is the energy converter of a motor vehicle. Said energy converter has a gas supply system 10 which has been installed in the fuel supply system of the motor vehicle. An electrolyser 20 is connected to an oxyhydrogen tank 12 through a first oxyhydrogen conduit 11 in the gas supply system 10. The oxyhydrogen tank 12 is equipped to temporarily store the oxyhydrogen generated in the electrolyser 20 and then to provide a second oxyhydrogen conduit 13 in which a pressure reducer 14 is arranged. An overpressure switch 15 is arranged in the oxyhydrogen tank 12. It is equipped to interrupt an electrical connection connecting the electrolyser 20 to various energy sources.

The motor vehicle has a fuel tank 30 which is filled, however, not with a fossil fuel, but with water 31, in which 0.4 g/l of sodium chloride is dissolved. A low-pressure line 32 connects the fuel tank 30 to a water inlet of the electrolyser 20. An electric fuel pump 33 is arranged in the low-pressure line 32, said fuel pump transporting the water 31 out of the fuel tank 30 into the electrolyser 20.

Without using the gas supply system 10, the electric fuel pump 33 transports gasoline out of the fuel tank 30 to a high-pressure fuel pump 41. In the installation situation according to the invention, the gas supply system 10 is installed in the fuel supply system so as to interrupt the fuel line leading from the electric fuel pump 33 to the high-pressure fuel pump 41 and the high-pressure fuel pump 41 is connected to the second oxyhydrogen line 13. Thus, the gas supply system 10 is supplied with water via the electric fuel pump 33 and supplies the high-pressure fuel pump 41 with oxyhydrogen via the second oxyhydrogen line 13 in turn.

In normal operation of the motor vehicle, the high-pressure fuel pump 41 transports gasoline via a high-pressure fuel line 42 to a high-pressure accumulator 43 of an internal combustion engine 50, which in the present illustrative embodiment is a direct-injection four-stroke Otto engine. In the illustrated installation situation, the high-pressure fuel pump 41 instead transports oxyhydrogen to the high-pressure accumulator 43 in the same manner. The injection strategy of the internal combustion engine 50 stored in the engine control device (not shown) of the internal combustion engine 50 has not been changed, so that injections of oxyhydrogen from the high-pressure fuel accumulator 43 into the cylinder combustion chambers of the internal combustion engine 50 take place in the same manner as provided for direct gasoline injection.

An intake manifold in which a throttle flap 52 is arranged functions as an air supply 51 of the internal combustion engine 50. The air supply 51 is closed since the throttle flap 52 has been locked in the closed position.

The internal combustion engine 50 has an electric starter 53. Its crankshaft is connected to the transmission of the motor vehicle (not shown). A part of the torque of the internal combustion engine 50 is furthermore extracted by an electric generator 54. An energy storage 60 in the form of a battery is connected to the generator 54 via an electrical connection and can be charged by said generator. In order to start the internal combustion engine 50, the starter 53 and the electrolyser 20 are supplied with electrical energy from the energy storage 60 via the electrical connection 61. In the operation of the internal combustion engine 50, the electrolyser 20 is supplied via the generator 54. This supply can be temporarily interrupted by the overpressure switch 15.

The cooling water pump (not shown) of the internal combustion engine 50 is switched off. However, in the operation of the internal combustion engine, depending on the load, there is only an exhaust temperature in the range of 700 °C to 900 °C and an oil temperature in the range of 95 °C to 105 °C.

Figures 2 - 4 show representations of the electrolyzer 20 in the gas supply system 10. The electrolyzer 20 has a cylindrical circular housing having a side surface 210 and two circular surfaces 220. In the present illustrative embodiment, the length of the housing is 20 cm and the diameter of each of the circular surfaces 220 is also 20 cm. The electrolyzer is arranged so that its longitudinal axis runs horizontally. An oxyhydrogen outlet 212 at the highest point of the side surface 210 allows oxyhydrogen to exit into the first oxyhydrogen conduit 11. Water transported from the electric fuel pump 33 is fed through a water inlet 222 in one of the circular surfaces 220 into the interior of the electrolyzer 20.

A cuboid frame 240 is arranged in the electrolyzer housing and supports a cathode 250 and an anode which cannot be seen in Figures 2-4. The cathode 250 is designed as a meandering platinum wire which is wound around a cathode plate 241 of the frame 240 which supports the cathode 250 in this manner. The anode is held between an anode plate 244 and an anode frame 261. The cathode 250 is connected to an electrical cathode connection 253 and the anode is connected to an electrical anode connection 263. The two electrical connections 253, 263 are fed through the same circular surface 220, through which the water inlet 222 also extends.

Figure 5 shows all components of the electrolyser 20 in an exploded representation. The side surface 210 has an opening 211 in which the oxyhydrogen outlet 212 is established. A tangential wedge 213 is provided as a balance between the curved surface of the side surface 210 and the oxyhydrogen outlet 212. Six threaded rods 214 are arranged on the outside of the side surface 210, said threaded rods respectively having a rod region whose length corresponds to the length of the side surface 210. A thread is respectively arranged at each of the two ends of the rod region, said thread protruding beyond the side surface 210.

The circular surface 220, which has the water inlet 222, has an opening 221 in which the water inlet 222 is established. Two further openings 223 serve to receive the electrical supplies 224. One of the electrical connections 253, 263 is respectively fed through one of the electrical supplies 224. Each electrical passage 224 is respectively fixed by means of a nut 225 on the outside and a nut 226 on the inside of the circular surface 220, since the nuts 225, 226 engage on an external thread of the electrical passages 224. Both the circular surface 220, which has the openings 221, 223, and the further circular surface 220 respectively have six holes through which the thread portions of the threaded rods 214 are fed. A hexagonal cap nut 227 and a washer 228 are provided with a hexagonal cap nut 229. 228 are applied respectively to each thread portion. The two circular surfaces 220 each have two grooves 229 inside them, into which the frame 240 engages and is thus held between the two circular surfaces 220. Two O-rings 231, 232 having different diameters respectively serve to seal each of the circular surfaces 220 with respect to the side surface 210.

The frame 240 has the cathode plate 241, which is serrated on its upper side and on its lower part, to engage in the meanders of the cathodes 250. Three fixing strips 242 and three spacers 243 connect the cathode plate 241 to the frame-shaped anode plate 244. Cylinder screws 245 are fed through the holes in the cathode plate 241 and the anode plate 244 for this purpose and terminate in the fixing strips 242 and the spacers 243. Three additional cylinder screws 246 are respectively fed through each of the fixing strips 242, by means of which the screws of the fixing strips 242 are screwed to the inside of the circular surface 220 having the water inlet 222.

The cathode 250 is held to the cathode plate 241 by means of the clamping clips 251. Two cylinder screws 252 fix one of the clamping clips 251 respectively to the cathode plate 241.

The anode 260 is designed as a graphite membrane (SIGRAFLEX® from SGL Carbon). It is clamped between the frame-shaped anode plate 244 and an anode frame 261. For this purpose, the anode plate 244 and the anode frame 261 are screwed together with the cylinder screws 262. The electrical connection 263 of the anode 260 is connected to the latter.

The electrolyzer contains no moving parts and is therefore not subject to any mechanical wear. The cathode 250 and anode 260 consist of resistant, non-consumable materials. Leaks may occur at the sealing surfaces of the oxyhydrogen outlet 212 and the water inlet 222 and at the O-rings 231, 232, which can be exchanged as required. When the electrolyzer 20 is opened to exchange the O-rings 231, 232, its interior may also be cleaned to remove any sodium chloride deposited there, which may sometimes precipitate if the water is oversaturated with this electrolyte.

During operation, the electrolyser 20 heats up slightly. This residual heat is dissipated into the environment. The heat increase is so slight that no active cooling is required for the electrolyser 20, provided that unhindered heat dissipation into the environment is ensured.

Oxyhydrogen can be generated in the electrolyser from 1.0 mol of water, which corresponds to 1.0 mol of hydrogen and 0.5 mol of oxygen. Under normal conditions (T = 20 °C, p = 1013.25 hPa), 1.5 mol of gas has a volume of 3670.50 cm3. When oxyhydrogen is combusted, this volume is reduced to the liquid volume of 1.0 mol of water, which equals 18 cm3. This reduction in volume corresponds to a decompression ratio of 199.9:1.

Electrolysis of 1.0 mol of water theoretically requires an electrical energy of 571.8 kJ or 158.96 Wh at a temperature of 20 °C and a pressure of 1013.25 hPa. With an electrolyser efficiency of 75 %, this results in an actual energy consumption of 212 Wh/mol.

It could be shown that the operation of a VW Golf 1.4, which has a 1.4 L 4-cylinder Otto engine having a nominal power of 75 kW by means of the above-described gas supply system 10 of which the electrolyser is operated with an on-board voltage of 12 V and the pressure reducer 14 feeds oxyhydrogen having a pressure of 80 hPa into the high-pressure fuel pump 41, uses 1.4 L of water over a 100 km road section. This corresponds to a material quantity of 77.78 mol of water, for the electrolysis of which 16.49 kW of electric energy is consumed in the case of the above-mentioned energy consumption. At different average speeds and travel times this leads to the values specified in Table 1 for the electric current flow through the electrolyser 20 and for the average electric energy P of the electrolyser 20:

Table 1

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The rotation speed of the internal combustion engine 50 is assumed to be 2000 rpm, so that one stroke of the four-stroke engine takes a time of 15 ms.

Although the use of the energy converter in the present illustrative embodiment has been described with reference to its use in a motor vehicle, it should not only be used in automobiles and not only by using Otto engines. The gas supply system can be used for all mobile or stationary direct injection internal combustion engines, regardless of the previously used fuel, such as gasoline, diesel, gas or other fuels. Therefore, the gas supply system can also be used in shipping, in power plants or for local generators. In principle, the gas supply system can be used with any direct injection internal combustion engine, regardless of its size or use.

In the case of stationary uses of the energy converter having the gas supply system according to the invention, both mechanical energy and thermal energy can be used, for example, to generate power through the generator (mechanical energy) with simultaneous use of the residual heat (thermal energy) to thereby generate steam.

Cargo and passenger ships can thus ensure the entire energy requirement for both transmission and for the provision of electricity and warm water, for heating the ships and for the operation of seawater purification plants at sea. The quantities of water required for operation can be taken directly from the respective body of water in the case of ships, so that stops for filling up at filling stations in ports or at moorings become superfluous. Seawater already contains sodium chloride as an electrolyte. Since the salt content of seawater is too high (approx. 35 g/l of seawater), the latter must be diluted with fresh water (e.g. from an onboard seawater purification system) (approx. 87 l of fresh water to 1 l of seawater). In inland transport, an electrolyte can be added to the freshwater in the required quantity.

Among the increased possible uses belongs, at least, the modernization of coal, oil or gas generating stations in which the transmission of the turbines has previously been achieved through steam generated by the combustion of coal, oil or gas. When using corresponding units operated with the gas supply system according to the invention, the turbines are driven directly by the units. The waste heat of the units can furthermore be used to generate steam. Existing coal, oil or gas power generating stations can thus be converted at a relatively low cost and continued to be used without harming the environment as they were previously and without these power plants having to be stopped and abandoned.

Claims (13)

i. Energy converter, which has • a gas supply system (10), which has - an electrolyser (20), having at least one cathode (250) and at least one anode (260) with a shared oxyhydrogen outlet (212), - an oxyhydrogen tank (12) with a volume in the range of 800 cm3 to 1000 cm3 which is fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen outlet (212), and - an oxyhydrogen line (13) which is fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen tank (12), • a direct injection internal combustion engine (50), of which the high pressure accumulator (43) is fluidly connected to the oxyhydrogen line (13) of the gas supply system (10), and • a water tank (30) which is fluidly connected to a water inlet (222) of the electrolyser (20) of the gas supply system (10). 2. The energy converter according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas supply system (10) further has an overpressure switch (15) which is equipped to shut down the electrolyzer (20) based on a pressure in the oxyhydrogen tank (12). 3. The energy converter according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the gas supply system (10) further has a pressure reducer (14) which is arranged in the oxyhydrogen line (13). 4. The energy converter according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the electrolyzer (20) has a cylindrical circular housing, wherein a water inlet (222) is arranged on a circular surface (220) and the oxyhydrogen outlet (212) is arranged on a lateral surface (210). 5. The energy converter according to claim 4, characterized in that a cuboid frame (240) is arranged in the housing and the cathode (250) and the anode (260) are respectively arranged on a side surface (241, 244) of the frame (240). 6. The energy converter according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the internal combustion engine (50) is a four-stroke internal combustion engine. 7. The energy converter according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the internal combustion engine (50) drives a generator (54) and the generator (54) is connected to the electrolyser (20) via an electrical connection (61). 8. The energy converter according to claim 7, characterized in that the generator (54) is electrically connected to an energy storage (60) which is connected to the electrolyzer (20) through the electrical connection (61). 9. The energy converter according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the electrical connection (61) between the generator (54) and the electrolyzer (20) passes through an overpressure switch (15) of the gas supply system (10). 10. The energy converter according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the internal combustion engine (50) is arranged in a motor vehicle. 11. The energy converter according to claim 10, characterized in that the water tank (30) is a fuel tank of the motor vehicle. 12. The energy converter according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that an air supply (51) of the internal combustion engine (50) is closed. 13. The energy converter according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that a cooling water pump of the internal combustion engine (50) is switched off.