Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Precision Combustion, Inc.

Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Go Motohashi

Yuji Yasui

Jun Iwamoto

Hitoshi Mikami

Shinya Ishimaru

Subir Roychoudhury

Richard Mastanduno

David Lang Spence

Dennis E Walsh

Hiroshi Ohno

Tetsuo Endo

Katsuji Wada

Naohiro Sato

Eric Walker

Nobuhiro Komatsu

Haruhiko Shimizu

Tomoko Tsuyama

David Spence

A process of catalytic partial oxidation of a hydrocarbon fuel with an oxidant to produce partially-oxidized reaction products including hydrogen, with simultaneous in-situ coke removal. The process involves feeding a hydrocarbon fuel and an oxidant to a reactor in a fuel-rich feed ratio; reacting the fuel and oxidant for a fuel-rich cycle-time so as to produce a partially-oxidized reaction product; varying the fuel feed, or the oxidant feed, or both feeds to produce a fuel-lean feed to the reactor; maintaining the fuel-lean feed for a fuel-lean cycle-time sufficient to reduce coke deposits while maintaining a substantially constant yield of partially-oxidized reaction product; and alternating between the fuel-rich and fuel-lean operating cycles.

In-situ coke removal

An exhaust purification device for an internal combustion engine is provided that can promote the reduction of NOx in a NOx purification catalyst from immediately after startup of the internal combustion engine. The exhaust purification device includes: a fuel reformer that is provided separately from exhaust plumbing, reforms fuel and produces a reducing gas that contains carbon monoxide, hydrogen and hydrocarbons, and supplies the reducing gas upstream of the NOx purification catalyst into the exhaust path; an exhaust gas temperature sensorthat detects a temperature Tof the exhaust flowing in the exhaust plumbing; and a reformer control partthat starts supply of the reducing gas to the exhaust plumbingby starting control of the fuel reformerin a case where the temperature Tthus detected by this exhaust gas temperature sensoris no higher than a predetermined first determination temperature T, and stops the supply of reducing gas to the exhaust plumbingby stopping control of the fuel reformerin a case where the temperature detected by the exhaust gas temperature sensoris at least a second determination temperature T, which is higher than the first determination temperature.

Exhaust purification device for internal combustion engine

Provided is a fuel reforming device, which can produce and supply a reformed gas in quick response to a demand for the reformed gas and which is so inexpensive as can be suitably mounted on a vehicle. The fuel reforming device feeds a material to a reforming catalyst and produces the reformed gas under a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure. The fuel reforming device comprises a material supply means for supplying the material to the reforming catalyst, a reforming means having the reforming catalyst, for reforming the material supplied from the material supply means, to produce the reformed gas, and a run control means for controlling the run of the fuel reforming device. The run control means includes a stop mode, in which the drive of the material supply means is stopped to stop the production of the reformed gas, a reform mode, in which the material supply means is driven to produce the reformed gas, and a standby mode, in which the material supply means is driven and in which the temperature of the reforming catalyst is held within a predetermined range while producing the reformed gas as little as possible, so that the standby mode can shift instantly to the reform mode.

Fuel reforming device

An apparatus for fuel reforming is provided that utilizes pulsed injectors for a fuel flow controller and an air flow controller, and the injectors are integrated with an atomizing mixer thereby producing a fuel-air mixture having an O/C Ratio which, in turn, is passed to a Catalytic Partial Oxidation reactor. Use of this apparatus permits beneficial long term operation of this Catalytic Partial Oxidation reactor.

Reactor flow control apparatus

An exhaust cleaning method and exhaust cleaning apparatus for an internal combustion engine () in which a fuel is fed and burned under periodical rich/lean combustion conditions. In a fuel reformer () disposed independently of an exhaust channel () in the engine (), the fuel for the internal combustion engine () is reformed to produce a reformed gas containing carbon monoxide. The reformed gas is supplied to the exhaust to be introduced into an exhaust converter () having, disposed therein, a catalyst which adsorbs and reduces nitrogen oxides. The nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust gas are adsorbed and reduced. Thus, the nitrogen oxides contained in the exhaust are removed at a high efficiency.

Method of exhaust cleaning for internal combustion engine and exhaust cleaner

Provided is an exhaust gas cleaner by which nitrogen oxides contained in an exhaust gas can be efficiently removed in a wide temperature range from a low temperature. The exhaust gas cleaner () is for use in purifying the exhaust gas discharged from an internal combustion engine () in which fuel is fed under periodical rich or lean conditions and burned. The cleaner () comprises: a reforming means () which generates a reforming gas comprising hydrogen and carbon monoxide; a means of low-temperature oxidation () which contains palladium and which thereby can oxidize and adsorb nitrogen oxides at low temperatures and oxidize the hydrogen and carbon monoxide; and a purifying means () which under lean conditions adsorbs nitrogen oxides and which under rich conditions releases the adsorbed nitrogen oxides and removes the released nitrogen oxides with the hydrogen and carbon monoxide present in the channel. By contriving the layout of the reforming means (), means of low-temperature oxidation (), and purifying means (), nitrogen oxides contained in an exhaust gas can be removed in a wide temperature range from a low temperature.

Exhaust gas cleaner

An internal combustion engine HC-adsorbent is located in one of a pair of exhaust passages in parallel to each other downstream of an emission control catalyst for purifying an exhaust gas and through which exhaust gas flows selectively by a switchover valve. The adsorbent is a zeolite mixture having pores at least 3.5 &#x212b; and smaller than 6 &#x212b; and not equal or larger than 6 &#x212b; and smaller than 7 &#x212b;, and zeolite having pores at least 7 &#x212b; and smaller than 10 &#x212b; and not equal or larger than 6 &#x212b; and smaller than 7 &#x212b;. HCs are desorbed quickly and easily lowering the desorption temperature, while ensuring excellent adsorbing performance for HCs of different molecular diameters. Even when a vehicle travels only a short duration after engine starting, desorption advances quickly and reliably, the adsorbent exhibiting intended adsorbing performance at the next engine starting.

HC-adsorbent for internal combustion engine

Growing community of inventors

Saitama, Japan

Go Motohashi