A process of operating a spark-ignited internal combustion engine (SI-ICE) with improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions including under steady state and under lean-operating conditions at high overall air to fuel (AFR) ratios. A first supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel, such as gasoline or natural gas, and a first supply of oxidant are fed to a fuel reformer to produce a gaseous reformate with a reforming efficiency of greater than 75 percent relative to equilibrium. The gaseous reformate is mixed with a second supply of oxidant, after which the resulting reformate blended oxidant is fed with a second supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel to the SI-ICE for combustion. Steady state fuel efficiency is improved by more than 3 percent, when the reformate comprises from greater than about 1 to less than about 18 percent of the total volume of reformate blended oxidant fed to the engine.

A system for sustainable generation of energy, comprising at least one device for converting natural power into useful energy, and at least one internal combustion engine or heat engine. The internal combustion engine or heat engine may be connected to a gas cleaning device for fuel or heat supply. A method for sustainable generation of energy, comprising the steps of generating a first amount of useful energy by converting natural power; and generating a second amount of energy by operating at least one internal combustion engine or heat engine, wherein the internal combustion engine or heat engine is driven by fuel or heat derived from cleaning a waste gas.

A reforming system may include an engine; an intake line connected to the engine; an exhaust line connected to the engine; a reformer provided at an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) line diverging from the exhaust line and mixing the exhaust gas with fuel; a front end pressure sensor provided at the EGR line of the front end portion of the reformer and measuring pressure of the exhaust gas of the front end portion of the reformer; a rear end pressure sensor provided at the EGR line of the rear end portion of the reformer and measuring pressure of the exhaust gas of the rear end portion of the reformer; and a reforming controller configured for determining whether reforming continues on the basis of a pressure difference between the front end portion and the rear end portion of the reformer measured by the front end and the rear end sensors.

An exhaust treatment catalyst (5) is arranged in the engine exhaust passage, and hydrogen generated in the reformer (6) is supplied through the hydrogen supply pipe (13) to the inside of the engine exhaust passage upstream of the exhaust treatment catalyst (5). Heat exchange fins (15) for heat exchange with exhaust gas flowing through the inside of the engine exhaust passage are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the hydrogen supply pipe (13) inserted inside the engine exhaust passage.

A process of operating a spark-ignited internal combustion engine (SI-ICE) with improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions including under steady state and under lean-operating conditions at high overall air to fuel (AFR) ratios. A first supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel, such as gasoline or natural gas, and a first supply of oxidant are fed to a fuel reformer to produce a gaseous reformate with a reforming efficiency of greater than 75 percent relative to equilibrium. The gaseous reformate is mixed with a second supply of oxidant, after which the resulting reformate blended oxidant is fed with a second supply of high octane hydrocarbon fuel to the SI-ICE for combustion. Steady state fuel efficiency is improved by more than 3 percent, when the reformate comprises from greater than about 1 to less than about 18 percent of the total volume of reformate blended oxidant fed to the engine.

An exhaust purification system of an internal combustion engine provided with a heat and hydrogen generation device (50) and an exhaust purification catalyst (14) comprised of the three way catalyst. Heat and hydrogen generated in the heat and hydrogen generation device (50) is fed to the exhaust purification catalyst (14). When an air-fuel ratio of the air and fuel made to burn in the heat and hydrogen generation device (50) is made a predetermined target set air-fuel ratio, the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas discharged from the engine is controlled to the target adjusted air-fuel ratio required for making the air-fuel ratio of the gas flowing into the exhaust purification catalyst (14) the stoichiometric air-fuel ratio.

Provided is a hydrogen reformer using exhaust gas, comprising: a catalytic reaction unit which generates a reforming gas containing hydrogen when exhaust gas generated in an engine and fuel are supplied thereto; and a heat exchange chamber which is mounted on an outer surface of the catalytic reaction unit and exchanges heat between the exhaust gas and the catalytic reaction unit to supply heat that is required for an endothermic reaction of the catalytic reaction unit, wherein heat of the exhaust gas is used for the endothermic reaction of a catalyst, such that a separate heat source for the endothermic reaction is unnecessary.

Systems for abatement of pollutants in an exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine including a hydrogen injection article configured to introduce hydrogen upstream of a catalytic article are effective for the abatement of carbon monoxide and/or hydrocarbons and/or nitrogen oxides. The introduction of hydrogen may be intermittent and/or during a cold-start period.

Internal Combustion Engines, both Compression-Ignition (CI), mainly for Diesel oil, and Spark Ignition, for Gasoline, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or LPG emit pollutants during operation but particularly during cold startup in addition to nitrogen, carbon dioxide and water. The POLLUTANTS are: Carbon Monoxide (CO) Unburned Hydrocarbons (HC) and Nitrogen-Oxides (NOx) All cars today must be equipped with Catalytic Converters for oxidizing the CO to C02 and the HC to C02 and water and for the reduction of the NOx to N2 and water. These catalysts are inactive at temperatures below ca. 300 deg.c. and so when starting an engine from cold the emission of pollutants is high and not mitigated by the catalysts. Another problem is that a Reductant is required for the reduction of the NOx to N2 and water and the reductants in the exhaust gases namely CO and HC or Ammonia or Urea added to the flue gases are not efficient enough to fulfill the more stringent requirements for very low emission of NOx, There were many suggestions, in the literature and patents that propose the use of electrical heating of the catalysts monoliths, however the high burden on the batteries and also the long time needed for the heating made this approach virtually impractical. Another approach, for the DENOx and sometimes also for the cold startup was to manufacture hydrogen from water by electrolysis and first, store hydrogen and oxygen for injection into cold catalysts and ignite it prior to injection of the main fuel to the engine and secondly, during the run to produce hydrogen to be used as the reductant of NOx This approach also proved to be too difficult and costly and altogether impractical. In the present invention here an auxiliary small fuel system, preferably alcohol like Methanol, is installed. At cold startup the injection of the main fuel, such as Diesel Oil for CI engines or Gasoline for SI engines, is delayed for a few seconds and the compressed air from the engine flows into the after treatment main passage and mixes with injected Methanol and the mixture flows into the first catalyst section where at the inlet a metal net connected to an electrical source, such as a car battery, is heated igniting the mixture of air-methanol until the catalyst section is heated and then, in sequence, all catalyst sections, and in the case of a Diesel Engine also the DPF (DIESEL PARTICULATES FILTER), are heated up to the effective operating temperature. At that point all Methanol supply is cut off and a Methanol-Water mix is injected to a catalytic hydrogen production section (HPC) which is installed in parallel to the main exhaust passage and the Hydrogen rich stream is injected as the reda

An exhaust emission control device has at least one exhaust gas line, at least one particulate filter and/or at least one exhaust gas catalytic converter connected to the exhaust gas line, and a heated catalyst assembly arranged upstream of the particulate filter and/or the exhaust gas catalytic converter. The heated catalyst assembly is designed to react fuel with exhaust gas, and has a housing provided with an inlet and an outlet connected to the exhaust gas line such that a partial flow of the exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust gas line can be fed through the inlet into the housing and can be discharged from the housing through the outlet back into the exhaust gas line downstream of the inlet. An exhaust emission control device of this type may be used in conjunction with an internal combustion engine, and may be used for emission control of exhaust gas.