Plasma fuel processing for NOx control lean burn engines
US6363716B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 7, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 2, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 7, 2020 |
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 NOX 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.