A compression ignition engine system allows use of hydrous fuels, in particular hydrous biofuels, with high water content (e.g., 20-85% water). The hydrous fuel is pressurized, and also preferably heated via the engine's exhaust gas, to increase its enthalpy, and is then directly injected into the engine cylinder(s) near top dead center. The system provides brake thermal efficiency increases of 20% or more versus a comparable system using conventional diesel fuel, while allowing the use of inexpensive undistilled or lightly distilled biofuels.

A compression ignition engine system allows use of hydrous fuels, in particular hydrous biofuels, with high water content (e.g., 20-85% water). The hydrous fuel is pressurized, and also preferably heated via the engine's exhaust gas, to increase its enthalpy, and is then directly injected into the engine cylinder(s) near top dead center. The system provides brake thermal efficiency increases of 20% or more versus a comparable system using conventional diesel fuel, while allowing the use of inexpensive undistilled or lightly distilled biofuels.

Disclosed are two system devices for stratified injecting the recirculated exhaust gas and high-specific-heat-capacity or inert gas for clean combustion of an internal combustion engine. The former is composed of an exhaust gas recirculation system, an injection system, and a power system. The latter is composed of four parts, and a high-specific-heat-capacity gas or inert gas channel is added. Injectors can be arranged at any position in the cylinder between a top dead center and a bottom dead center of a piston in a cylinder; 1-3 layers of injectors can be arranged; and 2-6 injectors can be arranged on each layer. Gas participating in combustion enters the cylinder from two intake channels, namely, a scavenging port of the internal combustion engine and the injectors; an in-cylinder swirl ratio can be remarkably increased through kinetic energy carried by the gas; and fuel-gas mixing is promoted, and the combustion rate is increased.

The present invention provides systems, methods and apparatus to overcome limitations of liquid fuel engine combustion. Liquid fuel is mixed with superheated water which vaporizes, mixes with air and ignites within the injector nozzle. The injector nozzles then accelerate the mixture into the engine combustion chamber where unburned fuel vapor mixes and burns. Combustion begins the instant of injection and increases uniformly. Combustion pressure builds progressively. Combustion of fuel vapor is more ideal, and better controlled. As part of the system and apparatus, the present disclosure also includes a low-cost high-speed solenoid valve which produces shorter injection pulses. It also includes a high-speed, high-air-volume solenoid fuel valve. In addition, the present invention and its disclosure create tools to develop and optimize this new method of fuel vapor injection.

The present invention provides systems, methods and apparatus to overcome limitations of liquid fuel engine combustion. Liquid fuel is mixed with superheated water which vaporizes, mixes with air and ignites within the injector nozzle. The injector nozzles then accelerate the mixture into the engine combustion chamber where unburned fuel vapor mixes and burns. Combustion begins the instant of injection and increases uniformly. Combustion pressure builds progressively. Combustion of fuel vapor is more ideal, and better controlled. As part of the system and apparatus, the present disclosure also includes a low-cost high-speed solenoid valve which produces shorter injection pulses. It also includes a high-speed, high-air-volume solenoid fuel valve. In addition, the present invention and its disclosure create tools to develop and optimize this new method of fuel vapor injection.

A compression ignition engine system allows use of hydrous fuels, in particular hydrous biofuels, with high water content (e.g., 20-85% water). The hydrous fuel is pressurized, and also preferably heated via the engine's exhaust gas, to increase its enthalpy, and is then directly injected into the engine cylinder(s) near top dead center. The system provides brake thermal efficiency increases of 20% or more versus a comparable system using conventional diesel fuel, while allowing the use of inexpensive undistilled or lightly distilled biofuels.

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber and an actuator disposed therein being arranged to drive an output shaft of the engine, the method comprising: 5 (i) injecting a water containing fuel into the combustion chamber; (ii) flash boiling the water-containing fuel to form water vapour within the combustion chamber; (iii) thermolyzing the water vapour to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; and (iv) combusting the hydrogen gas to drive the actuator within the combustion chamber to 10 thereby drive the connected output shaft of the combustion engine.

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber and an actuator disposed therein being arranged to drive an output shaft of the engine, the method comprising: 5 (i) injecting a water containing fuel into the combustion chamber; (ii) flash boiling the water-containing fuel to form water vapour within the combustion chamber; (iii) thermolyzing the water vapour to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; and (iv) combusting the hydrogen gas to drive the actuator within the combustion chamber to 10 thereby drive the connected output shaft of the combustion engine.

A method of operating an internal combustion engine having at least one combustion chamber and an actuator disposed therein being arranged to drive an output shaft of the engine, the method comprising: 5 (i) injecting a water containing fuel into the combustion chamber, (ii) flash boiling the water-containing fuel to form water vapour within the combustion chamber, (iii) thermolyzing the water vapour to form hydrogen gas and oxygen gas; and (iv) combusting the hydrogen gas to drive the actuator within the combustion chamber to 10 thereby drive the connected output shaft of the combustion engine.

A sparked reciprocating internal combustion two-stroke steam engine including an engine casing, a crankshaft rotatable about a crankshaft axis, a cylinder arranged inside the engine casing, a piston 1 arranged inside the cylinder to movably reciprocate along a reciprocating axis between a top dead center position distal from the crankshaft and a bottom dead center position proximal to the crankshaft and operatively connected to the crankshaft such that the reciprocating piston imparts a rotational movement to the crankshaft, a combustion chamber defined within the cylinder between the engine casing and a head of the piston opposite the crankshaft, an intake valve, an exhaust valve, a fuel injector to directly inject fuel into the combustion chamber, a water injector to directly inject water into the combustion chamber at a location below the top dead center position of the piston, and a spark plug, where the intake valve is in fluid connection with a compressed gaseous oxidizer supply configured to feed compressed gaseous oxidizer through the intake valve to the combustion chamber.