Plasma fuel processing for NOx control of lean burn engines
US6176078A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 13, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 13, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY02T10/12
- WIPO fieldChemical engineering
- WIPO sectorChemistry
Abstract
A highly reactive reducing gas mixture is produced from vehicle fuel and introduced into the exhaust gas of an internal combustion engine operated at lean burn conditions and passed over a reducing catalyst to convert NO.sub.X emissions to benign emissions. Preferably, fuel with oxygen present in a carrier gas is metered into a plasma reactor having a bed of dielectric particles which prevent formation of coke as the fuel is reacted. The plasma induces a number of simultaneous reactions with the fuel to produce a substantial amount of oxygenated and non-oxygenated, unbranched organic molecules at relatively low temperatures that are highly reactive and ideally suited for use as a reducing agent in an SCR catalyst.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.