The present invention relates to a fuel conditioning system and, more particularly, a conditioning system for combustible liquid fossil fuels such as diesel and kerosene.
An internal combustion engine is a heat engine which involves the combustion of a fuel with an oxidizer, such as air, in a chamber. For example, a diesel engine operates by compressing air to a high pressure and temperature inside the engine's cylinders. Diesel fuel is then injected in atomized form into the hot compressed air in the cylinders. The high temperature causes the injected fuel to evaporate and ignite which releases energy that drives the engine's pistons. The combustion process produces a range of pollutant emissions, such as carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, particulate matter and nitrogen oxides, which are released in exhaust gases. Combustible fossil fuels often contain metal elements which are released in such gases.
The preceding discussion of the background art is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention only. The discussion is not an acknowledgement or admission that any of the material referred to is or was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of the application.
According to the present invention, there is provided a fuel conditioning system for an engine, wherein the fuel conditioning system comprises:
The internal chamber may comprise a plurality of fluid dispensers fluidly connected to the conduit system, wherein the fluid dispensers are arranged about an internal perimeter region of the internal chamber to spray the fuel and water toward the rotational axis.
The nebulizing members and the magnets may be arranged about the rotational axis inward from the fluid dispensers.
The internal chamber may comprise a plurality of elongate supports radially extending from the rotational axis, wherein each of the elongate supports comprises a set of the nebulizing members.
Each of the nebulizing members may comprise a plurality of splines or blades.
Each of the elongate supports may have a set of the magnets attached thereto.
The nebulizing members may be arranged into a plurality of groups of nebulizing members and the magnets may be arranged into a plurality of groups of magnets. In such examples, the plurality of groups of magnets may be interleaved within the plurality of groups of nebulizing members along the rotational axis.
The mixing vessels may be disposed on opposed lateral sides of a drive axle, wherein the drive axle is operatively coupled to the nebulizing members of each of the mixing vessels to rotate the nebulizing members.
The drive axle may be operatively coupled to the nebulizing members of each of the mixing vessels by a gear arrangement.
The gear arrangement may comprise a first set of gears that operatively drive a second set of gears, wherein the first set of gears are connected to the drive axle, and wherein the second set of gears are connected to rotational axles that rotate the nebulizing members.
The mixing vessels may also be disposed above and below the drive axle.
The fuel conditioning system may comprise a mixing device for mixing the fuel and water together in a predetermined ratio before the fuel and water is supplied into the at least one inlet.
The predetermined ratio may be about 70% fuel and 30% water.
The fuel conditioning system may comprise a pump for pumping fuel additive into the fuel and water after the fuel and water has been mixed together by the mixing device.
The fuel additive may comprise an engine lubricant.
The fuel conditioning system may comprise a pair of inlets for receiving the fuel and water into the input mixing vessel respectively.
The fuel conditioning system may also comprise a filter device fluidly connected to the outlet to filter fuel and water flowing from the outlet.
The fuel conditioning system may comprise an electric motor operatively configured to rotate the nebulizing members.
The nebulizing members may be mechanically coupled to a drive axle of the engine to rotate the nebulizing members.
The present invention also provides a diesel engine, wherein the diesel engine comprises the fuel conditioning system described above.
The diesel engine may be connected to an air processing system, wherein the air processing system comprises an air filtration system for supplying filtered air to the diesel engine, and wherein the air processing system also comprises a fuel tank comprising an air intake and an air outflow vent, wherein the air outflow vent is arranged to supply diesel fumes from the fuel tank to the diesel engine.
The air processing system may comprise an air pump for supplying pressurised air into the air filtration system.
The air processing system may be configured to mix the diesel fumes with the filtered air together before supplying the diesel fumes and filtered air to the diesel engine.
The present invention also provides an automobile, wherein the automobile comprises the diesel engine described above.
The automobile may also comprise an air conditioning system, wherein the air conditioning system is arranged such that condensed water produced by the air conditioning system is supplied to the fuel conditioning system to be nebulized with diesel fuel.
The automobile may comprise a control system for controlling the diesel engine and the fuel conditioning system, wherein the control system is configured to execute an engine startup process that includes a warm up phase followed by an operating phase, wherein during the warm up phase the diesel engine runs on diesel without receiving any diesel and water from the fuel conditioning system, and wherein during the operating phase the diesel engine receives diesel and water from the fuel conditioning system for combustion by the diesel engine.
The control system may also be configured to execute an engine shutdown process, wherein during the engine shutdown process the diesel engine stops receiving diesel and water from the fuel conditioning system and runs on diesel to flush any water remaining in the diesel engine.
Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to
More particularly, in the example depicted each internal chamber 24 comprises a plurality of fluid dispensers 32 fluidly connected to the conduit system 22. The fluid dispensers 32 may be arranged about an internal perimeter region of the internal chamber 24 to spray the fuel and water inwardly toward the rotational axis 28. The nebulizing members 26 and the magnets 30 may be arranged about the rotational axis 28 inward from the fluid dispensers 32. The fluid dispensers 32 may comprise a set of jets that receive the fuel and water from an elongate pipe section of the conduit system 22 extending along the internal perimeter region of the chamber 24. The system 10 is suitable for conditioning a range of different combustible liquid fossil fuels, such as diesel and kerosene. The example depicted is described with reference to diesel fuel.
The magnets 30 may be permanent magnets or electromagnets. In
The various mixing vessels 12 may be disposed on opposed lateral sides of a principal drive axle 36 that extends centrally through a longitudinally axis of the set of vessels 12. The drive axle 36 may be operatively coupled to the nebulizing members 26 of each of the mixing vessels 12 by a gear arrangement to rotate the nebulizing members 26. The gear arrangement may comprise a first set of gears 38 that are connected to the principal drive axle 36. The first set of gears 38 may operatively drive a second set of gears 40. The second set of gears 40 are disposed inside the housing of the system 10 and are connected to rotational axles 28 that rotate the nebulizing members 26. In other examples, the second set of gears 40 may be disposed outside of the housing of the system 10, as depicted in
The conduit system 22 may comprise a set of pipe sections that are fluidly interconnected between the fluid inlet 18 and outlet 20 to transfer the diesel and water through the chain of connected mixing vessels 12. The pipe sections 22 may be integrated into a pair of end plates 50, 52 arranged at respective longitudinal ends of the connected vessels 12. The pipe sections 22 may also be integrated into a pair of mating plates 54, 56 that face each other at a centre of the system 10. In the example depicted in
In use, the nebulizing members 26 are rotated about their respective axles 28 by the drive means 42 and diesel fuel and water is injected into the input mixing vessel 14 via the inlet 18. The fuel and water is sprayed in a mixture toward the axle 28 of the input mixing vessel 14 by the vessel's fluid dispensers 32. The fuel and water mixture comes into contact with the spinning nebulizing members 26 which operate to nebulize the mixture into a fine spray. Any ferromagnetic impurities in the resultant spray adhere to the magnets 30, thus removing them from the mixture. For example, the magnets 30 will remove any iron or nickel-based substances in the mixture that has been provided by the water and/or diesel. The nebulized mixture subsequently exits the input mixing vessel 14 via an outlet 44 provided in an inner wall of the vessel 14. The outlet 44 forms part of the conduit system 22 and feeds the nebulized fuel and water into the next mixing vessel 46. The next mixing vessel 46 operates in the same way as the input mixing vessel 14 to further nebulize and remove further ferromagnetic impurities from the fuel and water. The fuel and water is transferred by the conduit system 22 from vessel 46 through to the final, output mixing vessel 16 via each intermediate vessel 12. The fully nebulized and cleaned fuel and water mixture exits the output mixing vessel 16 via the outlet 20 and is then supplied to the engine for combustion.
Referring to
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The water in the water tank 64 that is used by the fuel conditioning system 10 may be supplemented by one or more additional water sources. For example, the system 10 may be installed in an automobile that has an air conditioning system that produces condensed water as a by-product of the air cooling process. The condensed water may be collected in a reservoir and supplied to the water tank 64 to replenish the water. Referring to
Referring to
The fuel conditioning system 10 advantageously generates a mixture of nebulized water and diesel (or other liquid fuel) for use by internal combustion engines which provides several significant benefits, including:
For the purpose of this specification, the word “comprising” means “including but not limited to”, and the word “comprises” has a corresponding meaning. It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art, in Australia or any other country.
The above embodiments have been described by way of example only and modifications are possible within the scope of the claims that follow.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2021904166 | Dec 2021 | AU | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/AU2022/051532 | 12/19/2022 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2023/115113 | 6/29/2023 | WO | A |
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