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Methanol steam reforming, which is an endothermic reaction, needs some heating. Both methanol conversion ratio and carbon monoxide (CO) concentration increase when temperature is elevated. As CO poisons a typical polymer electrolyte of a fuel cell, the relationship between methanol conversion ratio and CO concentration is a trade-off one. It was found from preliminary researches that the reforming reaction speed is controlled by heat transfer rate at large methanol flow rate, where methanol conversion ratio becomes lower and CO concentration becomes higher. Therefore it is necessary to develop a new methanol reforming concept that provides stable combustion for heating and enhanced heat transfer for improving the trade-off relationship and making a compact reformer. Reforming catalyst using metal honeycomb support and a new catalytic combustion were applied to a new concept plate type methanol steam reformer, which is used in a fuel cell of 3 kW-class electric generation.

This paper presents the numerical simulation method to predict the deactivation process of three-way catalytic converters. Three-way catalytic converter's deactivation typically results from thermal and chemical mechanisms. The major factor of thermal deactivation is the sintering of noble metal particles, which is known to depend on the ageing temperature and the oxygen concentration in the exhaust gas. The chemical deactivation is mainly caused by the poisoning, which has two effects on the catalyst deactivation. One effect is the loss of the catalyst activity, which is expressed by reduced frequency factors of reaction rates. Another effect is the suppression of the noble metal sintering. Poison deposits prevent the noble metal particles from moving in the washcoat, assisted by the reduced thermal loading of reaction heats, which is caused by the loss of the catalyst activity. Modeling these deactivation factors, we propose the rate expression of noble metal sintering.

A new heating strategy for electrically heated catalysts has been developed which reduces power consumption while achieving the desired hydrocarbon conversion. The relationship between catalyst volume and power consumption is presented. Observations of catalytic reactions by a thermoviewer camera and mathematical simulations are used to optimize the heating pattern. Significant reductions in power consumption, while maintaining conversion efficiency, are reported by heating only the front face of the catalyst. However, prior to mass production additional work is required to improve durability, and reliability and to resolve manufacturing issues.

Quality control of gasoline constituents and its effect on the Intake Valve Deposits (IVD) has become a recent issue. In this paper, the effects of gasoline and oil quality on intake valve deposits were investigated using an Intake Valve Deposit Test Bench and a Sludge Simulator. The deposit formation from the gasoline maximized at an intake valve temperature of approximately 160 °C, and the deposits formed from the engine oil were maximum at approximately 250 °C. Therefore, the contribution of the gasoline or the engine oil appears to depend on the engine conditions. The gasoline which contains MTBE or ethanol with no detergent additive slightly increases the deposition amount. The gasoline with a superior detergent significantly decreases the deposition amount even when MTBE or ethanol is blended in the gasoline. Appropriate detergent fuel additive retards the oil deterioration.