Internal-combustion engines – Charge forming device – Combustible mixture ionization – ozonation – or electrolysis
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-08
2001-03-20
Wolfe, Willis R. (Department: 3747)
Internal-combustion engines
Charge forming device
Combustible mixture ionization, ozonation, or electrolysis
C123S543000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202633
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molecular reactor for fuel induction, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for processing fuel and air for injection into an internal combustion engine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Reference is made to copending PCT application PCT/CA98/00367 filed Apr. 16, 1998 for a FUEL AND PROCESS FOR FUEL PRODUCTION by the applicants. In that application the process and fuel is described. Thus, a process of producing a combustible fuel is described, comprising exposing a gaseous hydrocarbon fuel to an electrical field or plasma to produce a fuel of improved combustibility as compared with the hydrocarbon fuel.
The prior art, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,783, Knight, issued Aug. 16, 1966, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,347,825, Suzuki et al, issued Sep. 7, 1982, proposes charging the mixture of air and fuel with an electrical charge. In the case of Knight, the electrostatically charged droplets are said to disintegrate into submicron size. The charged particles will tend to repel each other and disperse themselves evenly in the volume of gas. An electromagnetic field is also required in order to control the direction and movement of the mixture of air and fuel in the carburetor. Suzuki et al proposes the charging of droplets to prevent the collection of fuel on the walls of the conduit downstream of the fuel nozzle.
Both of these examples require the use of an electrical current which can be detrimental to the process as it will more than likely create arcing, which is what is especially aimed to be avoided.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention seeks to provide a highly combustible fuel for motor driven vehicles, more efficient and exhibiting lower levels of exhaust pollutants than conventional mixtures of gasoline and air.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a reactor for reprocessing fuel and a gaseous, oxygeneous fluid in order to have more complete burning of the fuel in an internal combustion engine and to reduce the emissions thereof.
An apparatus in accordance with the present invention comprises a reactor chamber maintained under negative pressure, means for spraying fuel under negative pressure into the reactor chamber, means for introducing air under negative pressure into the reactor chamber to mix in a reactor zone with the fuel, a pair of electrodes in the reactor chamber, in the reaction zone, and means for producing a high voltage, low current charge between the electrodes for charging the fuel droplets.
In a more specific embodiment, means are provided for passing the resulting gases to a second reactor chamber whereby the second chamber defines a second reaction zone, means for introducing steam into the reaction zone with the gases from the first chamber, means for applying heat and negative pressure to the second reactor chamber, a pair of electrodes, and means for introducing the resultant fuel from the second reactor chamber into the manifold of an internal combustion engine.
In a still more specific embodiment the apparatus includes means for applying heat into the first reaction zone.
A method in accordance with the more specific embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of spraying liquid fuel into a chamber under negative pressure, introducing air into the chamber, applying a negative electron discharge into the chamber for producing an intermediate fuel, introducing the intermediate fuel into a second reaction chamber, introducing steam into the second reaction chamber with the intermediate fuel, removing unwanted electrons from the second chamber for producing a final fuel, and introducing the final fuel into the manifold of an internal combustion engine.
In the process of the invention, a gaseous hydrocarbon fuel is exposed to an electrical field or plasma, more especially an electrical ionization potential difference, or to ultraviolet radiation, microwave radiation or laser.
The exposure may be carried out in the presence of a gaseous carrier fluid, for example, an oxygeneous fluid such as oxygen and/or air, or a mixture of oxygen and/or air and steam or gaseous water vapor. Other gaseous carrier fluids include nitrogen and the inert gases, for example, argon and helium.
While not wishing to be bound by any particular theory as to the mechanism of combustible fuel production, it is postulated in one theory that the electrical ionization potential difference or the radiation activates the gaseous hydrocarbon fuel to a high energy state; more especially the hydrocarbon molecules or ions of the fuel are thought to be electronically excited to a state in which they are more reactive or more susceptible to combustion than the hydrocarbon fuel in the non-excited state.
Another theory is that the process generates an extremely finely divided aerosol having a particle size far smaller than that achieved with a normal carburetor or fuel injector equipped system. Under the conditions of formation, the droplet particles are initially formed in a strongly, electrically charged condition. This is a metastable condition, leading immediately to the disruption of the highly charged droplets by internal coulombic repulsion and the formation of much more finely divided droplets, each of which carries a portion of the charge initially held by the original droplet. These second generation droplets may then rapidly and similarly undergo further disruption and dispersion and so on until the fuel-air mixture enters the combustion chambers and is ignited. Mutual electrostatic repulsion between these fuel particles prevents them from coalescing back to larger droplets. Furthermore, the droplets enter the combustion chambers relatively more finely divided than in a normal carburetor or fuel injector equipped system. Since burning of the fuel in the combustion chambers occurs at the fuel particle surface, its rate is therefore dependent upon the surface area. Burning at high engine speeds is incomplete before normally sized droplets in the normal carburetor or fuel injector equipped systems are ejected as exhaust, and therefore completeness of combustion is compromised if the droplet size is large. On the other hand, an extremely finely divided dispersion provides a huge increase in the surface area for burning and leads to much more complete combustion with the resulting decrease in carbon monoxide and unburnt hydrocarbon emissions which are observed with this invention.
The presence of the charge on the droplets of the aerosol likely enhances the ease with which the fuel dispersion is combusted, especially when the droplets are negatively charged, since the negatively charged droplets would have an increased affinity for oxygen adduction.
It is also possible, but not confirmed, that this excited state or charged droplets of the hydrocarbon molecules or ions may become bound to the gaseous carrier fluid, especially when the carrier fluid is an oxygeneous fluid, such as by forming an adduct between the oxygeneous fluid and the charged droplets.
In a particular process within the aforementioned general process, a gaseous, oxygeneous fluid is introduced into an atmosphere of gaseous hydrocarbon fuel maintained under vacuum.
The gaseous, oxygeneous fluid is suitably oxygen and/or air, or a mixture of oxygen and/or air and steam or gaseous water vapor.
The hydrocarbon fuel is suitably gasoline by which is to be understood the various grades of gasoline motor fuel; hydrocarbon fuel may also be diesel oil, natural gas or propane.
Conveniently the atmosphere of gaseous hydrocarbon fuel is formed by vaporizing a liquid hydrocarbon fuel, for example, gasoline, under vacuum or a slight pressure in a chamber. The use of a vacuum facilitates formation of the gaseous atmosphere from the liquid hydrocarbon fuel. Conveniently the vacuum corresponds to a negative pressure of 3 to 28 (7.62 cm to 71.12 cm), preferably 10 to 28 inches (25.4 cm to 71.12 cm) of mercury. When the vaporization is carried out at a slight pressure, this is suitably 15 to 16 psi (1.0206 atm to 1.08
Campagna Marc Jean
Colt Richard Herbert
Huynh Hai
Renault Swabey Ogilvy
Wolfe Willis R.
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