Heating apparatus for internal combustion engine exhaust aftertreatment

Abstract

A heating apparatus for engine exhaust includes a housing having an inlet for connection in an exhaust gas conduit to receive exhaust gas and an outlet for connection in an exhaust gas conduit to discharge exhaust gas, the housing defining an interior space, a burner unit mounted in the housing for combustion of a fuel in the interior space, and, a turbocompressor, including a turbine having an inlet to receive exhaust gas to drive the turbine and an outlet connected to the housing to discharge exhaust gas and a compressor driven by the turbine and having an inlet to receive ambient air and an outlet connect to deliver compressed air to the burner. The turbocompressor may be mounted on the housing upstream of the burner unit.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention is directed to an apparatus for heating an exhaust flow from an internal combustion engine to make the exhaust temperature suitable for use by exhaust aftertreatment systems, for example, for regeneration of a diesel particulate filter, heating a diesel oxidation catalyst body, and / or heating a selective catalytic reduction catalyst body.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION[0002]Exhaust aftertreatment systems are used to remove certain substances from a combustion exhaust flow, as in the example of a particulate filter, and to convert some combustion products to other substances, as in selective catalytic conversion of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) into nitrogen gas and water.[0003]For example, diesel particulate filters are used for removing particulate matter (typically the product of incomplete combustion) from the exhaust stream before releasing it to the environment. The collected particulate matter eventually loads the filter and must be...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The invention describes an apparatus that separates the heating system from the diesel particulate filter in a vehicle, which has two main benefits. Firstly, it allows for the use of shorter diesel particulate filters which improves efficiency and simplifies installation. Secondly, the heating system is separated from the engine control system which makes it easier to diagnose and fix any issues with the engine.

Problems solved by technology

While in some engine applications, for example, over the highway trucks, the engine exhaust reaches temperatures sufficient to heat the particulate filter for regeneration, in other applications the work cycle does not produce sufficiently high exhaust temperatures and some intervention is required.

There are problems in current heating devices, including size (when the device is integrated with a diesel particulate filter), cost, and complexity of operation.

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