Alternate fuel blending system and associated method

A fuel control system for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating primary and alternate fuel sources with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising:

• a primary fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a primary fuel flow path;
• an alternate fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to an alternate fuel flow path;
• an electronic controller coupled to the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller, wherein the electronic controller is adapted to control the primary fuel flow controller to control delivery of the primary fuel in the primary fuel flow path to a flow cell and control the alternate fuel flow controller to control delivery of the alternate fuel in the alternate fuel flow path to the flow cell;
• wherein the flow cell comprises:
• at least one inlet port adapted to receive the primary fuel from the primary fuel flow path and the alternate fuel from the alternate fuel flow path to form an engine supply fuel;
• an outlet port adapted to supply the engine supply fuel to an engine for consumption;
• and
• at least one bypass inlet port adapted to receive excess fuel previously received from the outlet port that was not consumed by the engine, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary or alternate fuel sources to avoid cross-contamination of the primary and alternate fuel sources;
• wherein the electronic controller is further adapted to provide a blended mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell by being adapted to:
• control the primary fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the primary fuel to the flow cell via the primary fuel flow path;
• and
• control the alternate fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the alternate fuel to the flow cell via the alternate fuel flow path;
• and
• control the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller based on a blend ratio of the blended mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel.

A fuel control system for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating primary and alternate fuel sources with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising:

• a primary fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a primary fuel flow path;
• an alternate fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to an alternate fuel flow path;
• an electronic controller coupled to the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller, wherein the electronic controller is adapted to control the primary fuel flow controller to control delivery of the primary fuel in the primary fuel flow path to a flow cell and control the alternate fuel flow controller to control delivery of the alternate fuel in the alternate fuel flow path to the flow cell;
• wherein the flow cell comprises:
• at least one inlet port adapted to receive the primary fuel from the primary fuel flow path and the alternate fuel from the alternate fuel flow path to form an engine supply fuel;
• an outlet port adapted to supply the engine supply fuel to an engine for consumption;
• and
• at least one bypass inlet port adapted to receive excess fuel previously received from the outlet port that was not consumed by the engine, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary or alternate fuel sources to avoid cross-contamination of the primary and alternate fuel sources;
• wherein the electronic controller is further adapted to provide a blended mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell by being adapted to:
• control the primary fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the primary fuel to the flow cell via the primary fuel flow path;
• and
• control the alternate fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the alternate fuel to the flow cell via the alternate fuel flow path;
• a primary fuel metering device coupled to the electronic controller and adapted to measure a volume of the primary fuel delivered to the flow cell;
• and
• an alternate fuel metering device coupled to the electronic controller and adapted to measure a volume of the alternate fuel delivered to the flow cell,
• wherein the electronic controller is adapted to control the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller to provide a desired blend ratio of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell based on the volume measurements received from the primary fuel metering device and the alternate fuel metering device.

A fuel control system for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating primary and alternate fuel sources with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising:

• a primary fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a primary fuel flow path;
• an alternate fuel flow controller that controls delivery of the alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to an alternate fuel flow path;
• an electronic controller coupled to the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller, wherein the electronic controller is adapted to control the primary fuel flow controller to control delivery of the primary fuel in the primary fuel flow path to a flow cell and control the alternate fuel flow controller to control delivery of the alternate fuel in the alternate fuel flow path to the flow cell;
• wherein the flow cell comprises:
• at least one inlet port adapted to receive the primary fuel from the primary fuel flow path and the alternate fuel from the alternate fuel flow path to form an engine supply fuel;
• an outlet port adapted to supply the engine supply fuel to an engine for consumption;
• and
• at least one bypass inlet port adapted to receive excess fuel previously received from the outlet port that was not consumed by the engine, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary or alternate fuel sources to avoid cross-contamination of the primary and alternate fuel sources;
• wherein the electronic controller is further adapted to provide a blended mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell by being adapted to:
• control the primary fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the primary fuel to the flow cell, via the primary fuel flow path;
• and
• control the alternate fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the alternate fuel to the flow cell via the alternate fuel flow path;
• and
• a metering device coupled to the electronic controller and the flow cell, wherein the metering device is adapted to measure a volume of fuel inside the flow cell,
• wherein the electronic controller is adapted to sequentially control the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller to provide a desired blend ratio of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell based on the volume measurement received from the metering device.

A method for

• controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating a primary and an alternate fuel source with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising the steps of:
• controlling delivery of a primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a flow cell;
• controlling delivery of an alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to the flow cell;
• delivering, from an outlet port in the flow cell, an engine supply fuel contained in the flow cell to an engine for consumption;
• returning excess fuel from the previously received engine supply fuel not consumed by the engine to the flow cell for recombination with the engine supply fuel, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary fuel source or the alternate fuel source to avoid cross-contamination of the primary fuel source and the alternate fuel source;
• providing a blended mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell by:
• controlling a primary fuel flow controller coupled to the primary fuel source to deliver a desired amount of the primary fuel to the flow cell;
• and
• controlling an alternate fuel flow controller coupled to the alternate fuel source to deliver a desired amount of the alternate fuel to the flow cell;
• and
• controlling the primary fuel flow controller and the alternate fuel flow controller to not allow blending of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to operate in neat mode if RIN information comprising at least one RIN regarding the alternate fuel delivered to the alternate fuel source indicates that the at least one RIN has been extracted prior to the delivery of the alternate fuel to the alternate fuel source.

A method for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating a primary and an alternate fuel source with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising the steps of:

• controlling delivery of a primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a flow cell;
• controlling delivery of an alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to the flow cell;
• delivering, from an outlet port in the flow cell, an engine supply fuel contained in the flow cell to an engine for consumption;
• returning excess fuel from the previously received engine supply fuel not consumed by the engine to the flow cell for recombination with the engine supply fuel, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary fuel source or the alternate fuel source to avoid cross-contamination of the primary fuel source and the alternate fuel source;
• and
• receiving RIN information comprising at least one RIN for the alternate fuel during the controlling of the delivery of the alternate fuel from the alternative fuel source to the flow cell.

A method for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating a primary and an alternate fuel source with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising the steps of:

• controlling delivery of a primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a flow cell;
• controlling delivery of an alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to the flow cell;
• delivering, from an outlet port in the flow cell, an engine supply fuel contained in the flow cell to an engine for consumption;
• returning excess fuel from the previously received engine supply fuel not consumed by the engine to the flow cell for recombination with the engine supply fuel, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary fuel source or the alternate fuel source to avoid cross-contamination of the primary fuel source and the alternate fuel source;
• measuring a volume of the primary fuel delivered to the flow cell;
• measuring a volume of the alternate fuel delivered to the flow cell;
• and
• controlling a primary fuel flow controller and an alternate fuel flow controller to provide a desired blend ratio of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell based on the measured volumes of the primary fuel delivered to the flow cell and the alternate fuel delivered to the flow cell.

A method for controlling delivery of a primary and an alternate fuel to an internal combustion engine of a vehicle without cross-contaminating a primary and an alternate fuel source with bypassed fuel from the engine, comprising the steps of:

• controlling delivery of a primary fuel from a primary fuel source to a flow cell;
• controlling delivery of an alternate fuel from an alternate fuel source to the flow cell;
• delivering, from an outlet port in the flow cell, an engine supply fuel contained in the flow cell to an engine for consumption;
• returning excess fuel from the previously received engine supply fuel not consumed by the engine to the flow cell for recombination with the engine supply fuel, such that the excess fuel is not returned to the primary fuel source or the alternate fuel source to avoid cross-contamination of the primary fuel source and the alternate fuel source;
• blending a mixture of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel provided to the flow cell by:
• controlling a primary fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the primary fuel to the flow cell via a primary fuel flow path;
• and
• controlling an alternate fuel flow controller to deliver a desired amount of the alternate fuel to the flow cell via an alternate fuel flow path;
• measuring a volume of fuel inside the flow cell;
• and
• sequentially controlling the delivery of the primary fuel from the primary fuel source and the delivery of the alternate fuel from the alternate fuel source to provide a desired blend ratio of the primary fuel and the alternate fuel to the flow cell based on the volume of fuel inside the flow cell.