Patent Abstract:
Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for on-board refining of fuels within motorized vehicles. On board fuel refining is a finish-refining step that allows a fuel to be more precisely tailored to a particular vehicle and internal-combustion engine and to the current conditions under which the fuel is being used. In one embodiment, the fuel is subjected to fluid-shear forces and cavitation.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of Application No. 11/183,243, filed on Jul. 15, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,334,781, issued on Feb. 26, 2008, which, in turn, is a continuation-in-part of Application No. 10/939,893, filed on Sep. 13, 2004, now abandoned. 

   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The present invention relates to the field of fuel processing for internal-combustion engines, and, in particular, to a system and method for on-board finish refining of fuel within vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  illustrates current fuel production and distribution. Crude oil is pumped from oil wells and delivered to oil refineries  102  by ships  104  and oil pipelines. The crude oil is refined at oil refineries, primarily by catalytic cracking of large, complex hydrocarbons to produce various lower-molecular-weight hydrocarbons and by fractionation, to produce various different types of fuel, including kerosene, diesel fuel, and gasoline. Each type of fuel is characterized by various parameters, including flash point, volatility, viscosity, octane rating, and chemical composition. In general, the fractionation process selects a molecular-weight range of alkane, alkene, and non-aliphatic crude oil components which results in each fraction having desired fuel characteristics, including desired flash points, volatilities, viscosities, and octane ratings. Gasoline and diesel fuel are then delivered by truck  106  or pipeline to various distribution points, including service stations  108 , where the fuel is delivered to motor vehicles. 
   While the above-described fuel-processing and fuel-delivery system has successfully provided fuel for motorized vehicles for nearly a century, there are certain disadvantages to the system. For example, the refining process is carried out once, at the oil refinery  102 , and once the fuel leaves the oil refinery, there is no further possible processing or processing-based quality control. From a thermodynamic standpoint, fuel is a relatively high-energy and low-entropy substance, and is therefore chemically unstable. Fuel is subject to a variety of chemical-degradation processes, including oxidation, polymerization, substitution reactions, many different additional types of reactions between component molecules and between component molecules and contaminates, absorption of solid and liquid contaminants, absorption of gasses, continuous loss of more volatile components by vaporization and release of vaporized fractions, contamination with water, and many other types of processes. The potential for fuel degradation is increased by the relatively large variation in times between refining and use, the ranges of temperature and other environment conditions that the fuel may be exposed to during delivery, storage, distribution, and while contained in the fuel tanks of motorized vehicles, and by many other factors beyond the control of fuel refiners and fuel distributors. It is likely that, in many cases, the fuel actually burned in internal-combustion engines may differ in chemical composition and characteristics from the fuel originally produced at the oil refinery. 
   A further consideration is that each type of motorized vehicle and internal-combustion engine generally differs from other types of motorized vehicles and internal-combustion engines, and it is quite impossible to economically produce fuels particularly designed and tailored for any particular motorized vehicle or internal-combustion engine. Were it possible to refine a fuel to produce a fuel optimal for any particular motorized vehicle and internal-combustion engine, it is likely that the motorized vehicle would provide greater fuel efficiency and produce fewer pollutants than when running on standard, mass-produced fuel. Furthermore, the characteristics of any particular vehicle and internal-combustion engine may change dramatically over time, as the vehicle ages, and may also change dramatically depending on vehicle use and the ever-changing condition sunder which the vehicle is operated. 
   For these and other reasons, fuel producers and distributors, motorized-vehicle designers and manufacturers, and consumers of fuel would all benefit by an ability to better control fuel characteristics following initial production, while the fuel is distributed and while the fuel is contained in fuel tanks within motorized vehicles. Both fuel efficiency and pollution control could likely be optimized by more closely matching fuels to vehicles as the fuel is being used. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methods for on-board refining of fuels within motorized vehicles. On board fuel refining is a finish-refining step that allows a fuel to be more precisely tailored to a particular vehicle and internal-combustion engine and to the current conditions under which the fuel is being used. In one embodiment, the fuel is subjected to fluid-shear forces and cavitation. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  illustrates current fuel production and distribution. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates on-board fuel refining that represents method-and-system embodiments of the current invention. 
       FIG. 3  shows the general approach of on-board fuel refinement on which embodiments of the present invention are based. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates an on-board fuel-refinement system that represents one embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  shows an external view of a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention from two different perspectives. 
       FIG. 6  shows a rotor chamber within a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention from two different perspectives. 
       FIG. 7  shows a rotor-housing end cap of one embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIGS. 8A-B  show two views of a fuel-refining-unit rotor according to one embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIG. 9A-B  show an exploded diagram of a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention from two different perspectives. 
       FIG. 10  shows the electronic control subsystem of an on-board fuel-refinement system that represents one embodiment of the current invention. 
       FIGS. 11A-E  show tables of parameters that need to be considered at the design and operational stages of on-board fuel refining according to certain embodiments of the current invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to on-board refining of fuel within a motorized vehicle, at the point in time and in the location where a final, finishing refinement can most effectively prepare the fuel for combustion.  FIG. 2  illustrates on-board fuel refining that represents method-and-system embodiments of the current invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , rather than fuel refining being carried out only once, at the oil refinery ( 102  in  FIG. 1 ), a finishing on-board fuel refining is carried out, according to method-and-system embodiments of the present invention, by an on-board fuel-refining system  202  within a motorized vehicle  110 . The on-board fuel-refining process can therefore be carried out at a time most favorable to matching current engine conditions and can be tailored specifically to a particular motorized vehicle and internal combustion engine. 
     FIG. 3  shows the general approach of on-board fuel refinement on which embodiments of the present invention are based. Fuel is delivered to, and stored within, a fuel tank  302  within a motorized vehicle according to current fuel distribution methods. Fuel is withdrawn from the fuel tank  302  and refined by an on-board fuel-refinement system  304 , which stores a certain amount of refined fuel. The engine  306  of the motorized vehicle consumes refined fuel produced by, and stored within, the on-board fuel-refinement system  304 . 
     FIG. 4  illustrates an on-board fuel-refinement system that represents one embodiment of the present invention. Fuel is pumped from a vehicle&#39;s fuel tank by lift pump  402  and stored in a first reservoir, reservoir tank A  404  under control of a fuel sensor  406  in reservoir tank A that detects fuel levels within reservoir tank A. When the fuel level in reservoir tank A drops below a threshold amount, lift pump  402  is activated to draw additional fuel from the vehicle&#39;s fuel tank. The lift pump ensures that, regardless of the current pitch or roll of the vehicle, fuel will be available for on-board refining. Fuel is pumped by a second pump, the fuel-refining-unit pump  408 , into the fuel-refining unit  410  under control of a flow sensor  412  and fuel sensor  413 , and refined fuel is output to reservoir tank B  414 , from which the refined fuel is drawn by the vehicle&#39;s fuel pump. 
     FIG. 5  shows an external view of a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention. The fuel-refining unit  502  includes a rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing  504 , a rotor-housing end cap  506 , and a motor mount  508  that mounts the fuel-refining unit to a motor that spins a rotor within the fuel-refining unit in order to apply fluid shear forces to the fuel within the fuel-refining unit and generate cavitation within the fuel. 
     FIG. 6  shows a rotor chamber within a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention. The rotor chamber  604  is an empty, enclosed and sealed, roughly cylindrical volume formed by the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing  606  and rotor-housing end cap  608 . Two inlet ports  610  and  612  provide channels through which fuel is input, under pressure generated by the fuel-refining-unit pump ( 408  in  FIG. 4 ), into the rotor chamber. 
     FIG. 7  shows a rotor-housing end cap of one embodiment of the current invention. The rotor-housing end cap  702  includes apertures for attachment bolts, including apertures  704 - 705 , and the inlet port  706 . 
     FIGS. 8A-B  show two views of a fuel-refining-unit rotor according to one embodiment of the current invention. The rotor  802  includes a cylindrical fuel-processing surface, into which a number of radially-oriented depressions are machined, such as depression  806 . The rotor includes a rotor shaft, on end of which  808  is ratably mounted in a complementary cylindrical mounting feature of the rotor-housing endplate, and the other end  810  of which is mounted through a coupling to the rotating shaft of a motor. The depressions, including depression  806 , are arranged into a pattern on the cylindrical fuel-processing surface, with the pattern, diameter of the depressions, depth of the depressions, and shape of the depressions all potentially significant parameters with respect to the operational characteristics of the fuel-processing unit. 
     FIG. 9  shows an exploded diagram of a fuel-refining unit that represents one embodiment of the current invention from two different perspectives. The figure is shown with alphanumeric labels defined in a figure key  902 . Numerical labels are additionally provided, and referred to in the following text. The exploded diagram of the fuel-refining unit shows many of the parts of the fuel-refining unit. These parts include: (1) a rotor-housing end cap  904 ; (2) a machined rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing  906 ; (3) a rotor  908 ; (4) a shielded bearing  910 ; (5) a spider coupling  912 ; (6) a pump seal  914 ; (7) a large-diameter “O” ring  916 ; (8) a small diameter “O” ring  920 ; (9) attachment bolts  922  that attach the rotor-housing end plate to the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing; (10) an electric motor  924 ; (11) attachment bolts  926  that attach the motor-mount portion of rotor-housing end plate to the motor housing; (12) and exhaust port  928  from which fuel leaves the rotor chamber and is carried to reservoir tank B ( 414  in  FIG. 4 ); and (13) inlet ports  930  and  932  through which fuel is introduced into the rotor chamber. 
     FIG. 10  shows the electronic control subsystem of an on-board fuel-refinement system that represents one embodiment of the current invention. The electronic control subsystem employs electrical input from a number of sensors and controls, and a control program, to dynamically start, stop, and vary parameters of the various active components of the on-board fuel-refining system of one embodiment of the current invention in order to optimize refining for the current conditions of engine operation. The control program runs on the controller chipset  1002 , and continuously emits electronic signals to: (1) the lift pump  1004  ( 402  in  FIG. 4 ) and the fuel-refining-unit pump  1006  ( 408  in  FIG. 4 ) through relays  1008  and  1010 , respectively; (2) a speed card  1012  that inputs signals to a fuel-refining-unit servo  1014  in order to control rotor function, including rotor speed; and (3) a control valve  1016  that, when open, admits fuel from the fuel-refining-unit pump to the fuel-refining unit. The control program receives inputs from various sensors and monitors, including: (1) fuel sensors  1018  and  1020  ( 406  and  413  in  FIG. 4 , respectively); (2) a rotor RPM sensor  1022 ; (3) a pressure sensor  1024  that reports the pressure of fuel within the fuel-refining unit; and a fuel-flow sensor  1026  that reports the rate of fuel flow into the fuel-refining unit. 
     FIGS. 11A-E  show tables of parameters that need to be considered at the design and operational stages of on-board fuel refining according to certain embodiments of the current invention.  FIGS. 11A-C  provide tables that show various design parameters that affect characteristics of the refined fuel output from the fuel-refining unit and input to the internal-combustion engine of a motorized vehicle.  FIG. 11D  provides a table that shows various on-board-fuel-refining-system operational parameters that affect characteristics of the refined fusel output from the fuel-refining unit and input to the internal-combustion engine of a motorized vehicle.  FIG. 11E  provides a table of metrics, the values of which optimized by adjusting the parameters provided in  FIGS. 11A-D  in order to achieve optimal on-board fuel refining. 
   The table shown in  FIG. 11A  includes various rotor parameters, values for which are selected during design and trials of an on-board fuel-refining system. These rotor parameters include: (1) rotor circumference (or diameter, or radius); (2) rotor length; (3) pattern of rotor depressions; (4) depth of rotor depressions; (5) radii of rotor depressions; (6) shape of rotor depressions; (7) number of rotor depressions; (8) surface roughness of rotor; (9) composition of rotor; (10) mass of rotor; (11) percentage of ideal, cylindrical surface of rotor represented by depressions; and (12) rotor shape. In general, the depression-bearing surface of the rotor is cylindrical, but slight variations in the shape, including elliptical shapes and various patterns of longitudinal variations in radius are possible. The rotor surface and rotor depressions, spinning at high rates of revolution, induces fluid shear forces within the fuel in the rotor chamber, and may additional create cavitation. Cavitation produces extremely high, but short-duration temperatures that can induce a variety of chemical and physical changes of the fuel. Shear forces can also cause chemical changes, and the combined effects of pressurization and rotor forces may influence the types and quantities of dissolved gasses in the fuel, in addition to changing the chemical composition of the fuel. The above-listed parameters may all, separately or in various combinations, influence the fluid shear forces and amount of cavitation to which the fuel is subjected, as well as the amount of time that the fuel resides in the rotor chamber, average temperatures in the rotor chamber, and local temperatures produced by cavitation. 
   The table shown in  FIG. 11B  includes various fuel-refining-unit parameters, values for which are selected during design and trials of an on-board fuel-refining system. These rotor parameters include: (1) distance from the rotor surface to the inner surface of the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing, d; (2) volume of the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing, v; (3) the ratio d/v; (4) the number of inlet ports; (5) the spatial arrangement of inlet ports; (6) the diameter of inlet ports; (7) the shape of the inlet ports; (8) the number of exhaust ports; (9) the spatial arrangement of exhaust ports; (10) the diameter of exhaust ports; (11) the shape of the exhaust ports; (12) the shape of the inner-rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing; (13) composition of the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing; and (14) roughness of the inner surface of the rotor-and-rotor-chamber housing. In general, the above-listed parameters principally affect the time to which fuel is exposed to refining conditions within the rotor chamber, temperature and pressure within the rotor chamber, and pressure of various gasses dissolved in, and in equilibrium with, the refined fuel. Fuel refining induces fluid shear forces within the fuel in the rotor chamber, and may additional create cavitation. The above-listed parameters may all, separately or in various combinations, influence the conditions to which the fuel is subjected in the rotor chamber, and therefore may affect the characteristics and parameters of the output, refined fuel. 
   The table shown in  FIG. 11C  includes various on-board-fuel-refining-system parameters, values for which are selected during design and trials of an on-board fuel-refining system. These on-board-fuel-refining-system parameters include: (1) volume of reservoir tank A; (2) volume of reservoir tank B; and (3) the diameters, lengths, and other characteristics of fluid connections between various stages and components of the on-board-fuel-refining-system. In general, the above-listed parameters principally affect the time to which fuel is exposed to refining conditions within the rotor chamber, temperature and pressure within the rotor chamber, and pressure of various gasses dissolved in, and in equilibrium with, the refined fuel. 
   The table shown in  FIG. 11D  includes various operational parameters of the on-board-fuel-refining-system, values for which are continuously adjusted during motor-vehicle operation. These operational parameters include: (1) fuel pressure within the rotor chamber; (2) rate of flow of fuel through the rotor chamber; (3) rotational velocity of the rotor; (4) pressures in reservoir tank A and B; (5) degree of vacuum in reservoir tank B; (6) average amount of fuel in each of reservoir tanks A and B, as well as thresholds for each reservoir tank that determine when corresponding pumps are activated or shut off; (7) rate of flow of fuel through reservoir tank B; (8) temperature within the rotor chamber; (9) the temperature in reservoir tank B; (10) the type of fuel; and (11) composition of fuel, including nature and amounts of contaminants. In general, the above-listed parameters principally affect the time to which fuel is exposed to refining conditions within the rotor chamber, temperature and pressure within the rotor chamber, and pressure of various gasses dissolved in, and in equilibrium with, the refined fuel. All of these parameters may, alone or in various combinations, affect the composition and characteristics of the output, refined fuel. 
   The table shown in  FIG. 11E  includes various metrics that define how the above-mentioned parameters are adjusted in order to obtain optimal or near-optimal on-board fuel refining. These metrics include: (1) fuel efficiency, or miles/gallon; and (2) the concentration of various pollutant gasses in the exhaust gas emitted by the internal combustion engine. In certain cases, the pollutant gasses may be monitored during engine operation, while, in other cases, minimization of the concentration of pollutant gasses is carried out during on-board-fuel-refining-system design and implementation and during installation and tuning of an on-board-fuel-refining-system within a particular motorized vehicle. In general, the miles/gallon ratio is continuously monitored by the on-board-fuel-refining-system controller in order to adjust refining parameters to achieve greatest fuel efficiency. 
   Optimization of fuel efficiency and pollutant-gas emissions can be carried out by any of many different optimization techniques, from empirical and heuristics-based optimization to true, mathematical optimization using continuously computed differentials and a steepest-descent or other mathematical optimization technique. Optimization may be carried out continuously, at intervals, or may be carried out with all parameters at intervals and with continuous optimization of a smaller set of critical parameters. 
   Although the present invention has been described in terms of a particular embodiment, it is not intended that the invention be limited to this embodiment. Modifications within the spirit of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, other types of mechanical, chemical, electrical, and other processes may be used in addition to, or instead of, the rotor-based fluid-shear and cavitation induction used in the disclosed embodiment. Such techniques may change the temperature, pressure, and other parameters of the fuel, and may apply various forces or conditions that allow activation barriers for specific chemical reactions to be overcome. Many different types of optimization techniques and parameter-monitoring and parameter-adjustment techniques may be used to tailor on-board fuel refinement to the specific and current conditions of the motorized vehicle and internal combustion engine. The various design and operational parameters, discussed above, have different optimal values for each different type of motorized vehicle, internal combustion engine, and fuel. The design and operational parameters are not necessarily independent from one another. In one diesel-truck embodiment of the present invention, the distance d is 0.1 inch, the rotor diameter is 2.4 inches, there are two fuel-inlet ports and one fuel-exhaust port, each inlet port and the exhaust port a ¼ inch NPT with a ⅜ inch JIC fitting, fuel pressure in the rotor chamber between 3 and 6 psi, flow rate through the rotor chamber of between 16 and 22 gph, and speed of the rotor revolution at 2735±50 rpm. In addition, it has been found optimal to switch between flow rates of 17 gph and 21 gallons per hour. In this embodiment, greater than 12% improvement in fuel efficiency was observed, with significant (4.5% to 18%) drops in the mentioned pollutant gasses. However, much greater fuel-efficiency increases have been observed under certain conditions of operation. The various parameters and characteristics are likely to vary depending not only on vehicle and engine type, but also on current environmental and driving conditions. 
   The foregoing detailed description, for purposes of illustration, used specific nomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the specific details are not required in order to practice the invention. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are presented for purposes of illustration and description; they are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variation are possible in view of the above teachings. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical applications and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5