Engine Intake Oxygen-Hydrogen Injection for Cooler Combustion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Internal combustion engines, particularly diesel engines, suffer from incomplete combustion, leading to high emissions, reduced fuel efficiency, and increased pollution, necessitating a system to enhance combustion efficiency and reduce emissions.
Innovation Solution
A system generates an oxygen-hydrogen gas mixture through electrolysis of an aqueous solution, which is introduced into the engine's intake to promote more complete combustion, reduce particulate formation, and improve fuel efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-generated harmful factors
If conventional combustion is used in diesel engines, then the engine can operate, but incomplete combustion occurs leading to high emissions and reduced fuel efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an oxygen-rich plasma gas mixture into the combustion chamber to provide concentrated oxidizing power. This accelerates the combustion process and ensures more complete oxidation of fuel, thereby reducing harmful emissions while improving fuel efficiency through more complete energy extraction from the fuel.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical composition and physical state parameters of the oxidizing environment by generating plasma through electrical discharge. This transforms ordinary air into an oxygen-rich plasma mixture with higher reactivity, enabling more complete combustion at controlled temperatures and reducing harmful emissions.
2Productivity
If combustion temperature is increased to improve fuel efficiency, then more energy is extracted from fuel, but nitrogen oxide emissions increase
Solution Approach 1:
The oxygen-rich plasma provides intense oxidizing power that enables complete combustion at lower temperatures. The concentrated oxygen availability and reactive plasma state allow thorough fuel oxidation without requiring high thermal energy input, thus improving fuel efficiency while avoiding thermal NOx formation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces thermal-driven combustion with plasma-driven combustion. Instead of relying on high temperature to drive the oxidation reaction, electrical energy is used to create reactive plasma species that chemically drive combustion at lower temperatures, eliminating the temperature-NOx relationship.
3Productivity
If oxygen enrichment is applied to improve combustion completeness, then fuel efficiency increases, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses the engine's own electrical system to generate the plasma through a simple electrode assembly placed in the intake manifold. The design leverages existing vehicle resources (electrical power, intake airflow) to create the oxygen-rich plasma without requiring external oxygen storage tanks, complex delivery systems, or additional heavy infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the intake air itself as the medium for oxygen enrichment. By introducing a simple electrode assembly into the existing airflow path, the system generates plasma that enriches the oxygen content of the intake charge without requiring separate oxygen delivery systems, thereby maintaining simplicity while achieving combustion improvement.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system achieves substantially complete combustion, reduces emissions by up to 100%, increases fuel efficiency by up to 50%, and operates at cooler temperatures, while maintaining a controlled gas mixture generation process.
Implementation Method 1
A system generates an oxygen-hydrogen gas mixture through electrolysis of an aqueous solution
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatuses are provided to reduce combustion time and/or combustion temperature in an internal combustion engine. In an exemplary embodiment, intake air and oxygen-rich gas are introduced upstream of a turbofan, wherein the amount of oxygen rich gas is controlled in proportion to the engine speed.