Development of a Welding Machine System Using Brown Gas 305

JPE 5-4-7
Development of a Welding Machine System Using Brown Gas
by Improved Water Electrolyzation


Yong-Kyun Lee
*
, Sang-yong Lee
*
, Byung-Hwan Jeong
*
, Hyung-Soo Mok
*
and Gyu-Ha Choe

*
Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, Korea


ABSTRACT

Throughout the world, studies on the water energization are currently under way. Of those, Brown gas, which is
generated through the electrolyzation of water and is a mixed gas of the constant volume of 2 parts hydrogen to 1 part
oxygen, has better characteristics in terms of economy, energy efficiency, and environmental affinity than those of
acetylene gas and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) used for existing welding machines. This paper analyzes the
characteristics of Brown gas and presents methods for increasing the generating efficiency of Brown gas by designing a
power supply to deliver power to a water-electrolytic cell and designing a cylindrical electrode to improve the efficiency of
the electrolyzer needed for water electrolyzation. Based on the above the methods, a welding machine using Brown gas is
developed. And the generation efficiency of Brown gas is measured under different conditions (duty ratio, frequency and
amplitude) of supplied power.

Keywords: Brown gas, water electrolyzation, the generating efficiency of Brown gas, designing a power supply,
designing a cylindrical electrode


1. Introduction

Brown gas is a mixed gas which has a constant volume
ratio of 2 parts hydrogen to 1 part oxygen resulting from
the electrolyzation of water. It has better characteristics in
terms of economy, energy efficiency, and environmental
affinity than acetylene gas and LPG (Liquefied Petroleum
Gas), which are used for existing welding machines.
Specifically, it has the features of implosion, complete
combustion and environmental affinity. When burned,
Brown gas implodes because its volume is larger than the
mixed gas of Hydrogen and Oxygen before burning. So,
Brown gas is safer than acetylene or LPG (Liquefied
Petroleum Gas) as kept or used for welding or other
applications.
Moreover, during burning, Brown gas is completely
combusted without additional oxygen. (Adding additional
oxygen creates pollutants affecting the air quality.) Thus,
Brown gas could be used in an airtight space such as an
enclosed room without threatening the operators safety.
Hence, the use of Brown gas as a substitutive energy is
gradually increasing in many industrial fields.
Currently, many studies focusing on the chemical
analysis of electrolysis, the V-I characteristics of
hydrogen-oxygen gas generators and the generating
efficiency of gas are actively in progress. Conventional
Manuscript received January 28, 2005 ; revised Sep. 9, 2005

Corresponding Author: [email protected]

Tel: +82-02-450-3486, Fax: +82-02-447-9186
*
Dept. of Electrical Eng. Konkuk Univ.
Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.
306 Journal of Power Electronics, Vol. 5, No. 4, October 2005


water electrolysis equipment is powered by a direct
voltage source for a hydrogen-oxygen gas generator.
However, the weight and volume of the transformer are
greater than those of a general transformer. As a result, its
performance and efficiency were unacceptable. In this
paper, a welding machine using Brown gas consisting of a
water electrolysis system utilizing a pulse power supply is
developed to provide high performance and efficiency.
And the generating efficiency of Brown gas is measured
under different conditions (duty ratio, frequency and
amplitude) of supplied power

2. The Electrolysis of Brown Gas

General electrolysis of water requires a voltage source.
An electrolytic cell system consists of two metal plates
which are difficult to oxidize, an electrolyte, distilled water
and a voltage source. Because the decomposition of water
(H
2
O) is very difficult at low voltage, potassium
hydroxide (KOH) is used as an electrolyte to cause a
catalytic reaction. Fig. 1 shows a diagram of water
electrolysis. The electrolyte (KOH) dissolved in the water
becomes an ion as follow.

(1)

During the reaction, the electrolytes of KOH are
decomposed into K
+
cations and OH
-
anions and then try to
go to negative and positive electrodes respectively. Since K
+

is reactive to water, it must be kept away from the air in the
laboratory because even water moisture in the air can cause
oxidation. Thus, the free K
+
cation causes water to oxidize
immediately on contact, re-forming itself as potassium
hydroxide. In the oxidation process, electrons are removed
from the molecules being oxidized, so the KOH now has its
full set of electrons. The K
+
rips off a hydrogen cation (H
+
)
from the H
2
O, leaving an OH
-
for itself.
The resulting
+
H heads for the cathode to pick up an
electron to become a full mono-atomic hydrogen atom (H)
and then the OH
-
anion is left alone while the
+
K cation and
the
+
H cation complete their part of the redox reaction.

+
+ + +
+ + +
+
+
2
2
2 2 2
2 4 4 :
4 2 2 :
2 2
H e H Pole
e O H OH Pole
KOH O H KOH O H
(2)
Fig. 1 Diagram of water electrolysis

The OH
-
moves toward the positive plate of the anode.
When the OH
-
reaches the anode, it is oxidized (stripped of
two electrons, turning H
-
into H
+
) and split into a
mono-atomic oxygen atom (O) and a hydrogen cation (H
+
).
The hydrogen cation immediately leaves the vicinity of
the anode on its way to the cathode. Often, it will not go
directly to the cathode, it will combine with an OH
-
and
reform into water, then the water will be split again by K
+
,
when the
+
H arrives at the cathode, it picks up the
electron it needs to become a proper mono-atomic
hydrogen atom (H). The process is actually more
complicated than the reactions of the electrolytic cell just
described above because there are many interactions
between the H
2
O, KOH, OH
-
, K
+
, H
+
and any impurities in
the solution. Obviously, the reactions of oxidation and
deoxidization create the same quantity of electricity. The
chemical equation is defined as follows.
For the relation between electric charge and its
chemical equivalent, the electrolysis of water is defined by
Faraday's law of electrolysis
(1) The weight of a given element liberated at an
electrode during electrolysis is directly proportional
to the quantity of electricity.
(2) When the same quantity of electricity passes through
solutions of different electrolytes, the weight of the
substances liberated at the electrodes is directly
proportional to their equivalent weight.
During electrolysis the rate of output is a function of the
molecular weight of the product, its valence and the total
current passing through the electrolytic cell. One
Faraday is the amount of current that will produce one
gram mole of a product with a valence. To split water into
H
2
and O
2
, H
2
O takes two Faradays per mole, and two
+
+ OH K KOH

Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.
Development of a Welding Machine System Using Brown Gas 307


Faradays will convert 18 grams (about 0.635 oz) of water
into hydrogen-oxygen gas. Two Faradays are equivalent to
193038 Coulombs. This equals the product of the current
through the cell in amps and the time in seconds that the
current is applied. Thus, the output of a hydrogen-oxygen
gas generator operating at 5 amps would be 1.678 grams
of gas per hour
[2]
. As mentioned above, the chemical
equivalent is calculated with atomic weight and valence
and we get the electrical energy through the chemical
equivalent
[5]
.

3. Generating Efficiency of Brown Gas

The generating efficiency of Brown gas is affected by
complex elements such as the waveform, frequency, offset
and amplitude of the supply voltage and current; and the
size, number and distance between electrodes as shown
in Fig. 2. The efficiency is defined by the total amount of
gas vs. input power and the amount of gas consisting of
mono-atomic molecules vs. total gas. Generally, for the
efficiency of electrical phenomenon such as welding,
electrolysis goes better when the pulse voltage or current
waveform is supplied with an electrolyzer rather than by a
direct waveform. In this paper, to analyze the effect of
electrical elements, current waveform control is provided
by a pulse power supply and total amount of gas vs. input
power is measured to assess efficiency. The pulse power
supply controls amplitude, offset, duty ratio and frequency
and measures the average current as shown in Fig. 3. Fig.
4 shows the current controller of the pulse power supply.
It consists of a PI controller, limiter, carrier generator and
a PWM modulator.

O2 H2
H2
O H
O
H
H
H
Electrolytic
Cell
Power
Brown Gas
+ =
Amount of total
gas
Input
Power
Mono atomic
atom gas
Total Gas
Efficiency
Voltage/Current Waveform
Amplitude
Size of electrode
Number of electrode
Voltage/Current
Distance of electrode
VS.
VS.

Fig. 2 Elements influencing the generating efficiency of
Brown gas
Duty ratio
Time
Input
Voltage
&
Current
Maximum
Value
Offset

Fig. 3 Current controller waveform

PI
Controller
+
-
Carrier
PWM
Modulator
S(t) +
-
Iref
Ireal
Limiter
DC
or
Pulse

Fig. 4 Block diagram of current control

KOH
Main
electrode
Input
Auxiliary
electrode

Fig. 5 Cross section of a cylindrical electrolytic cell

4. Generating Efficiency of Brown Gas

An electrolytic cell is used to electrolyze water and
generate hydrogen-oxygen gas. Fig. 5 shows a cylindrical
water electrolytic cell. The center pole is connected with
the positive pole of the power supply and the shell pole is
connected with the negative pole. In conventional schemes,
the electrode form is a rectangular plane
[7]
. By designing a
cylindrical water electrolytic cell with multi poles
[3]
, we
can increase the area of the electrode surface in the same
volume, thus increasing the efficiency of the electrode
construction. The electrode is made of stainless steel that
is difficult to oxidize.
The diameter of the shell pole is fixed at 210[mm].
Auxiliary electrodes are designed as two types: either the
same interval or the same volume as in Fig. 6. When the
same current flows through each cylindrical electrolytic
cell, Fig. 7 shows the amount of Brown gas generated as
the input current is changed. In Fig. 7, the electrolytic cell
with an identical interval of auxiliary electrodes generates
Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.
308 Journal of Power Electronics, Vol. 5, No. 4, October 2005


much more Brown gas than the electrolytic cell with the
same volume.


Main
electrode
Auxiliary
electrode
Main
electrode
electrode
Auxiliary

Fig. 6 Horizontal cross section of an electrolytic cell

114
174
252
313
379
450
225
333
400
554
655
837
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
20 30 40 50 60 70
Input Current (A)
A
m
o
u
n
t
o
f
g
a
s
p
e
r
h
o
u
r
(
L
it
e
r
/
h
)
Same volume
Same interval

Fig. 7 Amount of Brown gasgenerated by input current

5. Structure of a Welding Machine System

As shown in Fig. 8, a general transformer is typically
used as a power supply for electrolysis of water and
diodes are used to change from AC voltage to DC voltage.
As a power supply, general transformers are big and
heavy; and since the diode rectifier is not a controllable
device, the power supply cant control the voltage or
current. But, in Fig. 9, the proposed power supply is a high
frequency transformer which has the advantages of being
light and small. Also, by adopting a full bridge inverter,
the proposed power supply can control the voltage and the
current. The principles for operating this power supply are
as follows. First, the current is changed from a DC source
to an AC source using a full bridge diode rectifier and the
DC source is converted to a 10kHz AC source. Then, the
voltage of the AC source is reduced by a high frequency
transformer. This AC source is rectified to a DC source by
using a fast recovery diode rectifier. The microcontroller
of TMS320LF2407A was chosen to rapidly perform this
function. An inverter in power supply is controlled by a
current PI control PWM method
[6]
. To avoid anode
oxidization of the electrolytic cell and increase electrolytic
cell life, polarity changing switches periodically change
the polarity of the supplied power. Based on the proposed
power supply of Fig. 9, the welding machine using Brown
gas is set up such as in Fig. 10. It consists of a water
electrolytic cell, a pulse power supply, current sensors and
a flame arrestor device. The cylindrical water electrolytic
cell is used for maximum electrode area and a 25%
potassium hydroxide (KOH) liquid is used as an
electrolyte. Fig.11 shows a prototype of a welding
machine using Brown gas.

6. Experiment Result

In this paper, a 25% potassium hydroxide (KOH) liquid
is used. Tin, nickel, glass, copper and zinc are used to
observe characteristics of welding. Current control is
+
-
+
-
Electrolytic
cell
Vs
Transformer
Reactor

Fig. 8 Existing power supply

+
-
Current
Sensing
High
Frequency
Transform
DSP
TMS320LF2407
Polarity changingswitch
Electrotic Cell

Fig. 9 Proposed power supply

Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.
Development of a Welding Machine System Using Brown Gas 309


performed by frequency, amplitude and offset control. The
amount of generated gas increases as the duty ratio
increases and we fixed it at 75%. Generating amount of
Brown gas during 1 hour is acquired Fig. 12 shows the
waveform of the current reference and Fig. 13 shows the
waveform of the output current and confirms longer rising
and falling time than the reference because of the RC time
constant of the water electrolytic cell. TABLE II shows
the amount of gas generated increases as average current
increases. But, the amount of generating gas is saturated at
about 70[A]. However, the saturation point can be
increased by using a higher frequency. Hence, to generate
the maximum amount of gas at 75[A], a current of
400[Hz] should be supplied. When supplying pulse
current, a much larger amount of gas is generated than
when supplying DC current.
Fig. 14 shows the shape of the flame is long and thin at
low gas pressure due to the implosion characteristics of
Brown gas, which makes it possible to weld small material.
Fig. 15 shows the welding flame characteristics of copper,
nickel, tin and zinc. Fig. 16 shows the welding
temperature of each metal. It can be verified that flame
temperatures and lightings are different for each material
because of the thermonuclear reactions of each material.
Welding with Brown gas does not leave any soot.


Fig. 11 Prototype of a welding machine using Brown gas

1V/div, 1ms/div
Ipeak
Ibase

Fig. 12 Waveform current reference

5A/div, 1ms/div

Fig. 13 Waveform output current
Table 1 Test Condition

Input Voltage AC 220V
Inverter Stack 5kVA
Switching Frequency 10kHz
HF transformer turn ratio 2:1
DC link Capacitor 44000uF
Reactor 1.2mH

DC/Pulse
Power
Supply
Controller
DSP
+
-
Pressure
Sensor
Torch
Vapoer/
Liquidfilter
Electrolytic
Cell
KOHSolution
Cylindrical
Electrode
Flame
Arrestor
Valve

Fig. 10 Structure of a Brown gas welding machine
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310 Journal of Power Electronics, Vol. 5, No. 4, October 2005


Table 2 Amount of gas generated as frequency and current
level[/h] change

[Hz]
[A]
DC 120 200 250 300 350 400
10[A] 67 72 70 69 50 57 50
15[A] 131 144 134 132 108 120 150
20[A] 192 234 211 193 203 192 231
25[A] 253 325 269 271 279 243 306
30[A] 317 373 341 340 333 324 361
35[A] 403 474 398 435 417 414 445
40[A] 469 509 473 493 476 478 509
45[A] 532 575 556 559 522 595 555
50[A] 607 641 637 597 594 626 631
55[A] 675 680 674 655 654 674 668
60[A] 758 770 721 673 711 714 716
65[A] 787 804 790 791 780 791 801
70[A] 810 841 856 856 860 885 877
75[A] 816 906 934 944 945 968 983


Fig. 14 Flame of a Brown gas welder

C u N i
S n Z n
C u N i
S n Z n

Fig. 15 Welding experiment

419.6
1084.5
231.97
1455
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
Ni Zn Cu Sn
W
e
l
d
i
n
g

T
e
m
p
e
r
a
t
u
r
e
[
o

C
]

Fig. 16 Welding temperature of each metal
7. Conclusion

According to the welding experiment results, it is
verified that Brown gas can be used for welding of
non-metallic material and it has clean and various welding
features. By the electrical characteristics, it could be
confirmed that the amount of gas generated increases as
current increases and becomes saturated at some point.
The saturation point can be increased by increasing the
current frequency. But the maximum efficiency of gas
generation point is different from the maximum amount of
gas point. Most users wish to use a welding machine that
generates the maximum amount of gas when using the
same water electrolytic cell. Therefore, it is desirable that
Brown gas generator should be operated at a point of
maximum gas generation by increasing the frequency of
the current. More studies need to be done to improve the
efficiency of maximum gas generation..

Acknowlegements

This work was supported by a research fund provided
by the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation from
Sep. 1. 2000 to Aug. 31. 2003.

References

[1] S.D.Seul, Inorganic Chemical Technology, DeaYoung,
1996, pp184~192.
[2] George Wiseman, Brown's Gas, Book1, Eagle Research,
1995.
[3] Geoge Wiseman, Brown Gas, Bookl, Eagle
Research,1995, pp.1~4.
[4] J.M.Lee, A Study on the Water Electrolysis Equipment
by Using Pulse Power Supply, KonKuk Univ. a master's
degree paper, 1999, pp15~16.
[5] Lerner Rita G, Trigg G, Encyclopedia physis, VCH
publishers, Inc, 1991, pp.272~273.
[6] J. Holtz, Pulsewidth Modulation-A Survey, IEEE.
PESC.Pro. Rec., 1992 pp. 410~420.
[7] A. Volanschi, Microcavity Electrodes Used as
Single-Nucleation Site Electrodes for the Electrolysis of
Water, Sensors and Materials. Vol. 9. No. 4,1997,
pp.223~240.


Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.
Development of a Welding Machine System Using Brown Gas 311


Yong-Kyun Lee was born in Seoul, Korea,
on August 7. He received a B.S. degree in
electrical engineering from KonKuk
University, Seoul, Korea where he is
currently working toward an M.S. degree.
His research interest is developing welding
machines using Brown gas.

Sang-Yong Lee was born in Hongsung,
Korea on December 2. He received a B.S.
degree in electrical engineering from
KonKuk University, Seoul, Korea where
he is currently working toward an M.S.
degree. His research interest is MPPT
algorithms of solar cell and photovoltaic systems.

Byung-Hwan Jeong was born in Pohang,
Korea. He received a B.S. degree in
electrical engineering from Kyungsung
University Pusan, Korea, in 2001 and an
M.S. degree in electrical engineering from
Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, where he
is currently working toward a Ph. D degree. Since 2005, he has
been with Korea Electrical Engineering and Science Research
Institute (KESRI), where he is currently a senior researcher at
the energy conversion center. His current research interests are
parallel operation of inverter systems and renewable energy
power condition systems.

Hyung-Soo Mok was born in Cheonan,
Korea. He received the B.S., M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees from Seoul National
University, Seoul, Korea, in 1986, 1988
and 1992, respectively. From 1992 to 1996,
he worked in the Department of Control
and Instrumentation Engineering as an assistant professor at
Seoul National University of Technology, Seoul, Korea.
Since 1997, he has been with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea. His research
interests are in the fields of motor drives, electrical machines,
PWM controls, and ac voltage regulators.

Gyu-Ha Choe was born in Pusan, Korea. He
received the B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees
from Seoul National University, Seoul,
Korea, in 1978, 1980 and 1986, respectively.
From 1987 to 1988, he was a Visiting
Scholar in the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Oregon State University, Covallis. 1997 to 1998,
Visiting Professor at Virginia Polytech Institute & State
University, Blacksburg, VA, 1998 to 1999, Konkuk University,
Seoul, Korea Vice President, Jan. 2001 to Dec. 2001, The
Korean Institute of Power Electronics Dean of Academic Affairs,
2002 to 2004, Auditor the Korean Institute of Power Electronics,
Seoul, Korea, January 2004 Dec. 2004, Head of EE Dept.
Industry Graduate Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, 2004 to
present. Since 1980, he has been with the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea, where
he is a Professor and Dean of Academic Affairs. His research
interests are in the fields of active power filters, PWM control, ac
voltage regulators, inverter welding machines, photovoltaic
systems and Brown gas welding machines.
Copyright (C) 2006 NuriMedia Co., Ltd.