Effect of sodium bicarbonate-enriched HHO fuel cells on gasoline engine performance: a design of experiments approach

01.Dec.2025

​The search for new and green sources of energy has accelerated in recent decades to solve problems related to the negative effects of hydrocarbon fuels and the instability in traditional fuel prices. Therefore, it was necessary to develop less expensive and less harmful sources of energy that minimize energy cost and emissions. Oxyhydrogen (HHO) is a potential source of energy with minimal environmental impact when blended with gasoline. It enhances the combustion reaction and consequently reduces emissions. In this work, an HHO fuel cell was tested with different concentrations of sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) added to distilled water as an electrolyte. The released HHO gas was fed into the engine's intake lines, and engine power and emissions were measured at different engine speeds and correlated with the amount of NaHCO₃ in the fuel cell. Design of experiments (DOE) methods were used to ​