Catalytic treatment of engine exhaust gas
AssigneeOrbital Engine Company (Australia) Pty. Limited
InventorsStuart Graham Price, David Richard Worth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for managing the operation of an internal combustion engine including an exhaust system having a catalytic treatment means to treat exhaust gas passing through the exhaust system. The method comprises introducing fuel in a vaporized or readily vaporized state to the exhaust system upstream of the catalytic treatment means to assist in raising the catalytic treatment means to a temperature which allows effective operation thereof.
Claims21
A method of determining a fuel concentration in a fuel vapour delivered from a fuel/air separator of an internal combustion engine, the engine having an idle speed control system for controlling the fuelling rate to the engine during idle speed, said method comprising the steps of collecting fuel vapour from the fuel tank in said fuel/air separator;
- purging said fuel vapour from the fuel/air separator to the engine when the engine is idling, resulting in an increase in the idle speed of the engine, so that the idle speed control system reduces the fuelling rate to the engine to lower the idle speed;
- and determining the reduction in the fuelling rate caused by the idle speed control so as to determine said concentration of said fuel in the fuel vapour.
A method of managing the operation of an internal combustion engine comprising an exhaust system having a catalytic treatment means to treat exhaust gas passing through the exhaust system, and a fuel/gas vapour treatment means for separating fuel in a fuel/air vapour generated by a fuel system of the engine from air in said fuel/air vapour, said method comprising the steps of separating the fuel within said fuel/air vapour from the air thereof to form a separated fuel, and introducing said separated fuel to the exhaust system upstream of the catalytic treatment means so as to contribute to establishing and maintaining a temperature thereof for effective treatment of the exhaust gas of the engine.
An internal combustion engine installation comprising an exhaust system having a catalytic treatment means for treating exhaust gases passing through the exhaust system, a fuel tank for storing fuel for the engine, a fuel/air separator for receiving a vapour generated in said fuel tank, said vapour comprising fuel and air, wherein said fuel/air separator separates the fuel from the air of said vapour, and means for delivering said separated fuel in an at least readily vapourised state into the engine exhaust system upstream of the catalytic treatment means so as to contribute to attaining an effective operational temperature of the catalytic treatment means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.