Apparatus and method for oxy-combustion of fuels in internal combustion engines

• US 9,488,100 B2
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Original Assignee: Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Government of Saudi Arabia)
• Inventors: Hamad, Esam Zaki, Al-Sadat, Wajdi Issam
• Primary Examiner(s): DALLO, JOSEPH J
• Application Number:
  US13/804,291
• Publication Number:
  US 20130247886A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,335 Days
• Field of Search: 123/198.DA, 123/198.E, 123/567, 123/585, 123/593, 123/668, 123/670
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2253/1124 Metal oxides
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2256/10 Nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2256/12 Oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/102 Nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/104 Oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2257/80 Water
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2259/402 using two beds
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 2259/45 Gas separation or purification devices adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/0462 Temperature swing adsorption
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/047 Pressure swing adsorption
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/0476 Vacuum pressure swing adsorption
• CPC Class Codes: B01D 53/22 by diffusion manufacturing semi-permeable membranes B01D67/00; form, structure or properties of semi-permeable membranes B01D69/00; material for semi-permeable membranes B01D71/00
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/0251 by making use of membranes
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/0255 characterised by the type of membrane
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/0259 by adsorption on solids
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2210/0046 Nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2210/0051 Carbon dioxide
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 2210/0075 Nitrogen oxides
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 37/00 Engines characterised by provision of pumps driven at least for part of the time by exhaust
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 47/10 Circulation of exhaust gas in closed or semi-closed circuits, e.g. with simultaneous addition of oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 77/00 : Component parts, details or accessories, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: F02B 77/02 : Surface coverings of combustion-gas-swept parts of pistons F02F3/10; of cylinders and cylinder heads F02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 25/12 : the apparatus having means for generating such gases using rays and simultaneously generating ozone F02M27/06
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/04 : with a single turbocharger
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/35 : with means for cleaning or treating the recirculated gases, e.g. catalysts, condensate traps, particle filters or heaters
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 26/37 : with temporary storage of recirculated exhaust gas internal exhaust gas recirculation F02M26/01
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10242 : Devices or means connected to or integrated into air intakes; Air intakes combined with other engine or vehicle parts filters F02M35/02; silencers F02M35/12 and F02M35/14; air coolers F02B29/04; heaters F02M31/00; air storage tanks F02B21/00; compressors F02B33/00; sensors F02M35/10373
• CPC Class Codes: F02M 35/10373 : Sensors for intake systems throttle position sensors F02D9/105
• CPC Class Codes: Y02C 20/40 : of CO2
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/129 : Energy recovery, e.g. by cogeneration, H2recovery or pressure recovery turbines
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/151 : Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions, e.g. CO2
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 30/00 : Technologies relating to oil refining and petrochemical industry
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/12 : Improving ICE efficiencies

Abstract

A method and apparatus for the oxy-combustion of fuel in an internal combustion engine (ICE) used to power a vehicle converts the free energy available onboard the vehicle in the form of waste heat from the engine exhaust gas stream and coolant system 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 NO_x 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.

Claims

1. An internal combustion engine (ICE) producing an exhaust gas stream having reduced nitrogen and NO_x 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 one or more air separation devices are membranes and the membranes are positioned in the wall of one or more of the plurality of cylinders, the one or more membranes providing fluid communication for oxygen molecules to pass from the air channels into the combustion chamber.

2. The internal combustion engine of claim 1 in which at least one membrane is positioned in the wall of each of the plurality of cylinders.

3. The ICE of claim 1 which the one or more membranes are displaced away from the zone of maximum pressure created during the respective compression and expansion strokes in the one or more cylinders.

4. The ICE of claim 1 in which at least a portion of the channels are in the form of a manifold and one or more oxygen separation devices are positioned in the manifold.

5. The ICE of claim 4 in which there are a plurality of oxygen separation devices and the devices are positioned in series and the proportional oxygen content of the gas stream is greater downstream of each of the separation devices in the series.

6. The ICE of claim 1 in which the oxygen separation devices are ceramic membranes.

7. The ICE of claim 6 in which the membranes are maintained at a temperature of about 800°

F. by heat exchange with hot exhaust gases from the engine.

8. The ICE of claim 1 in which the membrane is a solid ceramic electrolyte with porous electrodes that are oxygen permeable and the solid electrolyte passes oxygen ions under an electrical potential.

9. The ICE of claim 1 in which a portion of the exhaust gas stream from the ICE is recycled and mixed with the intake air.

10. The ICE of claim 1 which includes a turbo-supercharger powered by the exhaust gas stream and in fluid communication with the atmospheric air to pressurize the air upstream of the one or more separation devices.

11. The ICE of claim 1 in which the membrane restricts the passage of nitrogen, NO_x and CO₂ from the combustion chamber.

12. The ICE of claim 6 in which the ceramic membrane material is a perovskite type ceramic and releases retained oxygen in response to an increase in temperature.

13. The ICE of claim 4 in which the one or more oxygen separation devices comprise two or more fixed beds containing an adsorbent material that releasably adsorbs oxygen from the air and passes the non-adsorbed gases for discharge into the atmosphere, each of the beds having an inlet for receiving an oxygen-depleted purge gas to release the adsorbed oxygen and an outlet in fluid communication with one or more of the plurality of cylinders for conveying the oxygen-enriched gas stream to mix with the fuel.

14. The ICE of claims 13 in which the purge gas is a portion of the hot exhaust gas from the ICE.

15. The ICE of claim 13 that operates in conjunction with an engine management system having a processor/controller operative linked to at least one oxygen sensor located in the oxygen-depleted gas stream outlet of each of the two or more fixed beds, at least one valve associated with the inlet and outlet of each bed and controlled by the processor controller in response to the amount of oxygen in the oxygen-depleted gas stream to divert air from one bed to at least one other bed and to admit the purge gas to release the adsorbed oxygen for discharge from the bed outlet as the oxygen-enriched stream.

16. The ICE of claim 1 in which the engine'"'"'s air intake manifold includes a valve operable in response to the engine'"'"'s performance to open and admit atmospheric air when the engine'"'"'s requirements for oxygen cannot be met by oxygen passing through the one or more air separation devices.

17. The ICE of claim 13 in which the one or more air separation devices are pressure swing adsorption nitrogen generators.

18. The ICE of claim 13 in which the one or more air separation devices are vacuum swing adsorption systems.

19. The ICE of claim 13 in which the one or more air separation devices are hybrid vacuum-pressure swing adsorption systems.

20. The ICE of claim 1 in which the CO₂ from the exhaust stream is captured and undergoes a densification process for temporary storage on board a vehicle powered by the ICE.