Method for driving internal combustion engine, and air supply device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10107232-B2
Application number	US-201314431850-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 26, 2013
Priority date	Sep 28, 2012
Publication date	Oct 23, 2018
Grant date	Oct 23, 2018

Abstract

A method for driving an internal combustion engine is a method for reducing nitrogen oxides in emissions of the internal combustion engine, and includes a process of introducing air, which has a low oxygen concentration and contains no emissions, into the internal combustion engine, and a process of mixing humidifying water with a hydrocarbon fuel and injecting the mixture into a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine as an emulsion fuel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for driving an internal combustion engine that burns a hydrocarbon fuel and air in a combustion chamber, the method comprising:
reducing a concentration of oxygen in air to be introduced into the combustion chamber as supply air, wherein the reducing is carried out without humidifying, and comprises bringing the air into contact with a surface of a gas permeable membrane;
introducing the supply air into the combustion chamber,
wherein the supply air contains no emissions of the internal combustion engine;
mixing water with hydrocarbon fuel; and
injecting a mixture of the hydrocarbon fuel and water into the combustion chamber as an emulsion.

2. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein the surface that is contacted by the air is located on a primary side of the gas permeable membrane, opposite a secondary side, and wherein the reducing of the concentration of oxygen in the air includes:
pressurizing the air to be introduced into the combustion chamber.

3. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 2 , wherein the pressurizing of the air comprises compressing the air by a supercharger attached to the internal combustion engine, and additionally compressing the air by a compressor disposed in series with the supercharger.

4. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 2 , wherein the pressurizing of the air comprises compressing the air by a supercharger attached to the internal combustion engine and compressing the air by a compressor disposed in parallel with the supercharger.

5. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according claim 1 , wherein the concentration of oxygen in the air after reducing the concentration of oxygen, is 10 mol % or more and 20.5 mol % or less.

6. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , further comprising:
supplying the air after the reducing of the concentration of oxygen to a supercharger of the internal combustion engine.

7. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein the surface which is contacted by the air is located on a primary side of the gas permeable membrane, opposite a secondary side, the method further comprising:
reducing a total pressure of the secondary side of the gas permeable membrane by a vacuum pump or a suction blower to obtain a lower pressure on the secondary side than on the primary side of the gas permeable membrane.

8. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 7 , wherein the secondary side of the gas permeable membrane is oxygen-enriched by the gas permeable membrane, the method further comprising sweeping the secondary side with a gas.

9. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein the surface that is contacted by the air is located on a primary side of the gas permeable membrane, opposite a secondary side that is oxygen-enriched by the gas permeable membrane, and wherein the reducing of the concentration of oxygen in the air comprises sweeping a surface on the secondary side of the gas permeable membrane with a gas.

10. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , wherein the emulsion contains no emulsifier.

11. The method for driving an internal combustion engine according to claim 1 , further comprising:
carrying out gas separation by the gas permeable membrane, through dissolution and diffusion of the air that is brought into contact with the gas permeable membrane.

12. An air supply device for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a supercharger for compressing air;
an air compressor for compressing the air having been compressed by the supercharger to obtain pressurized air;
an oxygen concentration reduction module including a gas permeable membrane housed in a case, the oxygen concentration reduction module being configured to reduce a concentration of oxygen in the pressurized air without humidifying, by bringing the pressurized air into contact with a surface of the gas permeable membrane, to obtain low oxygen concentration air to be supplied to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine; and
a mixer for mixing and emulsifying a hydrocarbon fuel and water, in order to supply the fuel and water having been emulsified to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine;
wherein the supercharger, the air compressor, and the oxygen concentration reduction module are connected in series.

13. The air supply device according to claim 12 , wherein the surface which is contacted by the air is located on a nitrogen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane, opposite an oxygen-enriched side, the air supply device further comprising: a vacuum pump or a suction blower configured to reduce a total pressure of the oxygen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane to be lower than a total pressure of the nitrogen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane.

14. The air supply device according to claim 12 , wherein the gas permeable membrane comprises an oxygen-enriched side located opposite the surface which is contacted by the air, and wherein the air supply device is configured to sweep the oxygen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane with a gas.

15. The air supply device according to claim 12 , wherein the gas permeable membrane comprises a hollow fiber membrane or a flat membrane.

16. The air supply device according to claim 12 , wherein the oxygen concentration reduction module comprises a vacuum pump or a suction blower at one side of the gas permeable membrane.

17. An air supply device for an internal combustion engine comprising:
a supercharger for compressing air;
an air compressor for compressing the air having been compressed by the supercharger to obtain pressurized air;
an oxygen concentration reduction module including a gas permeable membrane housed in a case, the oxygen concentration reduction module being configured to reduce a concentration of oxygen in the pressurized air without humidifying, by bringing the pressurized air into contact with a surface of the gas permeable membrane, to obtain low oxygen concentration air to be supplied to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine; and
a mixer for mixing and emulsifying hydrocarbon fuel and water, in order to supply the fuel and water having been emulsified to the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine;
wherein the supercharger and the oxygen concentration reduction module are connected in series, and the air compressor is connected in parallel with the supercharger between the supercharger and the oxygen concentration reduction module.

18. The air supply device according to claim 17 , wherein the surface which is contacted by the air is located on a nitrogen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane, opposite an oxygen-enriched side, the air supply device further comprising: a vacuum pump or a suction blower configured to reduce total pressure of the oxygen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane to be lower than a total pressure of the nitrogen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane.

19. The air supply device according to claim 17 , wherein the gas permeable membrane comprises an oxygen-enriched side located opposite the surface which is contacted by the air, and wherein the air supply device is configured to sweep the oxygen-enriched side of the gas permeable membrane with a gas.

20. The ai

Assignees

• Asahi Kasei Chemicals Corp

Inventors

• Shimizu Atsushi
• Ohno Hirokazu
• Niihama Tomohiro
• Tsukamoto Masahiro

Classifications

• F02M25/035

  into the charge intakes · CPC title

• B01D53/22

  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 title

• B01D2317/022

  Reject series · CPC title

• F02M25/0228 Primary

  Adding fuel and water emulsion · CPC title

• B01D2257/104

  Oxygen · CPC title