Using On-board Fuel Reforming by Partial Oxidation to Improve SI Engine Cold-Start Performance and Emissions

Isherwood, Kristine Drobot; Linna, Jan-Roger; Loftus, P. J.

doi:10.4271/980939

Cited by 27 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…On-board generation of hydrogen-rich gas has been investigated using various types of prototype fuel reformer in the past [9,[23][24][25][26], in some cases with particular focus on cold-start performance [27,28]. Elsewhere, in-cylinder reforming has been employed in a system known as dedicated EGR [29] which uses rich combustion in one cylinder of a multi-cylinder engine to generate hydrogen rich EGR, similarly to REGR.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine efficiency and emissions with hydrogen from exhaust gas fuel reforming

Fennell

Herreros

Tsolakis

2014

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

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Graphical Abstract AbstractExhaust gas fuel reforming has been identified as a thermochemical energy recovery technology with potential to improve gasoline engine efficiency, and thereby reduce CO2 in addition to other gaseous and particulate matter (PM) emissions. The principle relies on achieving energy recovery from the hot exhaust stream by endothermic catalytic reforming of gasoline and a fraction of the engine exhaust gas. The hydrogen-rich reformate has higher enthalpy than the gasoline fed to the reformer and is recirculated to the intake manifold, i.e. reformed exhaust gas recirculation (REGR).The REGR system was simulated by supplying hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO) into a conventional EGR system. The hydrogen and CO concentrations in the REGR stream were selected to be achievable in practice at typical gasoline exhaust temperatures. Emphasis was placed on comparing REGR to the baseline gasoline engine, and also to conventional EGR. The results demonstrate the potential of REGR to simultaneously increase thermal efficiency, reduce gaseous emissions and decrease PM formation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine efficiency and emissions with hydrogen from exhaust gas fuel reforming

Fennell

Herreros

Tsolakis

2014

International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

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“…In a similar fashion to other reformer concepts such as those used for reforming ethanol [Dob98,Hod98], the plasma boosted reformer is also ideally suited for cold-start operation, due to the fast turn on time of the plasma Even in the absence of aidfuel preheat in the plasmatron system, the overall efficiency of the system should be comparable to that in present engines The time of operation without preheat and with a high fraction of fuel to the plasmatron is limited to the cold start and is thus very small. During cold start a high fraction of the fuel would be converted into hydrogen-rich gas.…”

Section: C) Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Engine experiments have also performed using bottled synthesis gas [BIe73, Mac76, Hom83, Kir991, and with conventional reformers operating on methane [Smi97] or ethanol [Dob98,Hod98]. This program reports the first use of a compact plasma boosted reformer to convert gasoline into hydrogen rich gas which is then combusted in an internal combustion engine resulting in a large decrease in air pollutants [GreOO, Bro99bI.…”

Section: ) Plasmatron Applications To Spark-ignition Enginementioning

confidence: 99%

Onboard Plasmatron Hydrogen Production for Improved Vehicles

Cohn¹,

Bromberg²,

Hadidi³

2005

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A plasmatron fuel reformer has been developed for onboard hydrogen generation for vehicular applications. These applications include hydrogen addition to spark-ignition internal combustion engines, NOx trap and diesel particulate filter (DPF) regeneration, and emissions reduction from spark ignition internal combustion engines First, a thernial plasniatron fuel reformer was developed. This plasmatron used an electric arc with relatively high power to reform fuels such as gasoline, diesel and biofuels at an oxygen to carbon ratio close to 1. The draw back of this device was that it has a high electric consumption and limited electrode lifetime due to the high temperature electric arc. A second generation plasmatron fuel reformer was developed. It used a low-current high-voltage electric discharge with a completely new electrode contigumtion. This design uses two cylindrical electrodes with a rotating discharge that produced low temperature volumetric cold plasma., The lifetime of the electrodes was no longer an issue and the device was tested on several fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and biofuels at different flow rates and different oxygen to carbon ratios.Hydrogen concentration and yields were measured for both the thermal and non-thermal plasmatron reformers for homogeneous (non-catalytic) and catalytic reforming of several fuels.The technology was licensed to an industrial auto part supplier (ArvinMeritor) and is being implemented for some of the applications listed above. The Plasniatron reformer has been successhlly tested on a bus for NOx trap regeneration.The successful development of the plasmatron reformer and its implementation in commercial applications including transportation will bring several benefits to the nation. These benefits include the reduction of NOx emissions, improving engine efficiency and reducing the nation's oil consumption... 11 I ObjectivesThe objective of this program has been to develop attractive applications of plasmatron fuel reformer technology for onboard applications in internal combustion engine vehicles using diesel, gasoline and biofuels. This included the reduction of NOx and particulate matter emissions from diesel engines using plasmatron reformer generated hydrogen-rich gas, conversion of ethanol and bio-oils into hydrogen rich gas, and the development of new concepts for the use ofplasmatron fuel reformers for enablement of HCCI engines. Approach'The objectives set forth in this program were to be met by:P Optimization of plasmatron fuel reformer configurations, including gas and fuel management, plasma geometry, and reactor chamber variations. P Optimization of catalytic and other materials enhanced plasmatron reforming> Determination of reforming characteristics of ethanol, refiied and unrefined biooils and with commercial grade diesel fuel 3 Development of instrumentation for investigating fast transients when using the plasmatron in a pulsed configuration, as would be the case of NOx trap regeneration P Modeling of plasmatron fuel reformer operation using comp...

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“…1). Among the more successful methods that have been developed for shortening the warming-up period are: heating with electrical power [4], heating with an external combustion chamber [5], installing an auxiliary small-capacity catalytic converter [6], employing an adsorber between two catalysts with [7,8] or without a secondary air source [9] and using an on-board fuel reformer [10]. Although these methods are quite effective, their disadvantage is that they require an external energy source, a control unit or a three-stage catalyst.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing cold-start emission from internal combustion engines by means of a catalytic converter embedded in a phase-change material

Korin

Reshef

Tshernichovesky

et al. 1999

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part D:

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Under normal operating conditions, catalytic converters appear to be the most effective means of reducing air pollution from internal combustion (IC) engines. The conversion efficiency, however, declines very steeply for temperatures below about 350°C and is practically zero during the starting and warming-up period. Improving the conversion efficiency under these conditions is important, particularly in large cities, where the number of startings per vehicle per day tends to be high. Among the more successful solutions are preheating of the catalyst electrically, warming up of the catalyst in an external combustion chamber, installation of an auxiliary small-capacity catalytic converter, and employment of an adsorbing unit between two catalysts. Although these methods are quite effective, their disadvantage lies in the fact that they require an external energy source, an additional component (a control unit) or a three-stage catalyst. In the present work an investigation was made of a solution based on the exploitation of thermal capacitance to keep the catalyst temperature high during off-operation periods. A phase-change material (PCM) with a transition temperature of 352.7°C, which is slightly above the light-off temperature of the metallic catalyst, was specially formulated, and a system comprising a catalytic converter embedded in the PCM was designed and tested. Under normal engine operating conditions, some of the thermal energy of the exhaust gases was stored in the PCM. During the time that the vehicle was not in use, the PCM underwent partial solidification, and the latent heat thus produced was exploited to maintain the catalyst temperature within the desired temperature range for maximum conversion efficiency.

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Using On-board Fuel Reforming by Partial Oxidation to Improve SI Engine Cold-Start Performance and Emissions

Cited by 27 publications

References 4 publications

Improving gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine efficiency and emissions with hydrogen from exhaust gas fuel reforming

Improving gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine efficiency and emissions with hydrogen from exhaust gas fuel reforming

Onboard Plasmatron Hydrogen Production for Improved Vehicles

Reducing cold-start emission from internal combustion engines by means of a catalytic converter embedded in a phase-change material

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