EMISSIONS REDUCTIONS USING HYDROGEN FROM PLASMATRON FUEL CONVERTERS
Substantial progress in engine emission control is needed in order to meet present and proposed regulations for both spark ignition and diesel engines. Tightening regulations throughout the world reflect the ongoing concern with vehicle emissions. Recently developed compact plasmatron fuel converters have features that are suitable for onboard production of hydrogen for both fuel pretreatment and for exhaust aftertreatment applications. Systems that make use of these devices in conjunction with aftertreatment catalysts have the potential to improve significantly prospects for reduction of diesel engine emissions. Plasmatron fuel converters can provide a rapid response compact means to transform efficiently a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels into hydrogen rich gas. They have been used to reform natural gas [Bromberg1], gasoline [Green], diesel [Bromberg2] and hard-to-reform biofuels [Cohn1] into hydrogen rich gas (H2 + CO). The development of these devices has been pursued for the purpose of reducing engine exhaust pollutants by providing hydrogen rich gas for combustion in spark ignition and possibly diesel engines, as shown in Figure 1 [Cohn2]. Recent developments in compact plasmatron reformer design at MIT have resulted in substantial decreases in electrical power requirements. These new developments also increase the lifetime of the electrodes.
- Research Organization:
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE) (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 827860
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-200008-55; TRN: US200428%%781
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 6th Diesel Engine Emissions Reduction (DEER) Workshop 2000, San Diego, CA (US), 08/20/2000--08/24/2000; Other Information: PBD: 20 Aug 2000
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Onboard Plasmatron Hydrogen Production for Improved Vehicles
Experimental Evaluation of SI Engine Operation Supplemented by Hydrogen Rich Gas from a Compact Plasma Boosted Reformer