APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR OXY-COMBUSTION OF FUELS IN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
First Claim
1. An internal combustion engine (ICE) producing an exhaust gas stream having reduced nitrogen and NOx emissions from the combustion of a fuel with an oxygen-enriched atmospheric air stream from which nitrogen has been separated,the ICE having an engine block with a plurality of cylinders having walls forming combustion chambers and one or more channels in fluid communication with the cylinders for delivering the oxygen-enriched air for combustion of the fuel,the improvement comprising:
- one or more air separation devices integrated with the operation of the ICE and in fluid communication with the engine'"'"'s air intake and the combustion chambers, the one or more air separation devices being adapted and configured to separate oxygen molecules from the atmospheric air to mix with the fuel and to return nitrogen molecules to the atmosphere, andwherein the channels are in the form of a manifold and one or more oxygen separation devices are positioned in the manifold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the oxy-combustion of fuel in an internal combustion engine (ICE) used to power a vehicle includes one or more air separation devices that separate oxygen from the atmospheric air to mix with the fuel and return the nitrogen to the atmosphere and converts the free energy available in the form of waste heat from the engine exhaust gas stream and coolant system on board the vehicle into electrical and/or mechanical energy, which energy is used to separate oxygen from air to eliminate or significantly reduce the volume of nitrogen entering the ICE'"'"'s combustion chamber, and thereby reduce NOx pollutants released into the atmosphere and increase the concentration of CO2 in the engine exhaust stream for capture using an integrated system to compress and increase the density of the captured CO2 for temporary on-board storage until it is discharged at a recovery station, e.g., during vehicle refueling.
55 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An internal combustion engine (ICE) producing an exhaust gas stream having reduced nitrogen and NOx emissions from the combustion of a fuel with an oxygen-enriched atmospheric air stream from which nitrogen has been separated,
the ICE having an engine block with a plurality of cylinders having walls forming combustion chambers and one or more channels in fluid communication with the cylinders for delivering the oxygen-enriched air for combustion of the fuel, the improvement comprising: -
one or more air separation devices integrated with the operation of the ICE and in fluid communication with the engine'"'"'s air intake and the combustion chambers, the one or more air separation devices being adapted and configured to separate oxygen molecules from the atmospheric air to mix with the fuel and to return nitrogen molecules to the atmosphere, and wherein the channels are in the form of a manifold and one or more oxygen separation devices are positioned in the manifold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification