If hydrogen cars produce water is it consumable?

Question

If hydrogen cars produce water is it consumable?

Answer 1

Yes, this is the best(highest purity) distilled water that can be made.   The only concern would be contaminants from aging parts of the fuel cell or internal combustion engine systems.

Answer 2

As a matter of fact, it is. And it's been done, although it was just a stunt.

Answer 3

The answer depends on the method of using the hydrogen, as well as the purity of the hydrogen you started with.

A hydrogen/PEM fuel cell generates pure "distilled" H2O.  In fact, NASA uses fuel cell (byproduct) water for the astronauts.  However, in practical terms, impurities in the hydrogen or picked up along the way in the plumbing would probably best be avoided.

Hydrogen combustion in a modified gas engine (see link) would exhaust water vapor but, again, I wouldn't drink it since it will be exposed to lubricating oil and other contaminants pulled in through the air intake.

At the end of the day, any device running on Hydrogen will contribute "mostly clean" water to the atmosphere. That beats CO, CO2, unburnt HC's and NOx any day.  It just won't make good drinking water.  For that, there are many other good sources, even in places where fresh, clean drinking water is scarce.

Answer 4

I wouldn't want to do it.  There will undoubtedly be traces of other pollutants that will get into the water.  It is just not a good cost effective source of water since there are too many others ways to get potable water at present.

Answer 5

It has to be pure oxygen and pure hydrogen.  The astronauts drink the water from their fuel cells.

Answer 6

Yes, it is like the distilled water.

Answer 7

To answer the question, you would first need to be brought up to speed on the science behind a hydrogen motor.  The car is powered by hydrogen, an element that is unstable on its own.  Once the the hydrogen has been released from the engine, its unstable nature causes it to require other elements to stabilize.  The natural tendency of unstable atoms is bond immediately with other atoms that will make it stable.  Hydrogen bonds most readily with oxygen atoms, two oxygen atoms, in fact, make it completely safe and stable.  It just so happens that one Hydrogen atom and 2 oxygen atoms make water.  As far as whether it's consumable or not, the water is pure on a molecular level and is therefore probably the safest drinking water on the planet at the time it is formed.  The question that would follow would be what pollutants it comes in contact with once it is formed.  Overall, I'd say that, barring any chemicals in the receiving container, the water would be perfectly clean and pure and completely safe for whatever uses you desire.

Answer 8

Yes. I would personally prefer to have it filtered first, but it is consumable.