Denny Klein
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Denny Klein (also referred to as Dennis J. Klein) is an American inventor and businessman from Clearwater, Florida, known for developing an electrolysis device that produces a combustible hydrogen–oxygen gas mixture he branded "Aquygen", and for claims that the gas can substantially improve the fuel economy of ordinary automobiles.
Biography
Klein founded the company Hydrogen Technology Applications, Inc. (HTA) in Clearwater, Florida. He is credited as the inventor on patents covering an electrolyzer design that decomposes distilled water into a gas mixture of hydrogen and oxygen, which he and his company called "HHO gas" or Aquygen. Klein's patented electrolyzer is described as differing from the earlier "Brown's gas" torch patents of Yull Brown in that it does not use an electric arc feature.
Klein came to wide public attention in 2006, when local and national news coverage of his "water-fuelled car" demonstrations circulated internationally.
Work
Klein originally developed his water-splitting device for industrial use, as a fuel source for blowtorches, welding equipment and metal cutting. His company marketed an Aquygen gas generator to the welding industry, and demonstrations showed the flame cutting steel and melting brick while remaining comparatively cool in open air.
Klein subsequently applied the same gas as an additive to internal-combustion engine fuel. He converted a Ford Escort into a hybrid arrangement in which gasoline could be supplemented with Aquygen produced on board from water, and he claimed fuel-economy improvements of roughly 25 to 50 percent along with reduced emissions. He also stated that he had run small engines, including a lawnmower, on the gas alone, while acknowledging that engineering problems remained.
These claims were widely disputed. Critics and commentators noted that water is not a fuel, and that separating water into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis consumes at least as much energy as is released when the gases are recombined by burning, so that an on-board electrolyzer driven by the vehicle's own engine cannot yield a net energy gain. Mainstream scientific opinion has generally treated the "water-powered car" claims associated with Aquygen and similar HHO devices as inconsistent with the conservation of energy, and several reviewers characterised the promotion of the technology as a hoax or scam. Klein and his company maintained that the gas is a distinct substance with unusual combustion properties.
External links
- "Denny Klein's Aquygen Boosts Gas Mileage with Hydrogen", Hydrogen Cars Now
- "Cars run on water: Miracle or scam?", WorldNetDaily, 2006