Patent ID: 7293409

Claim:
A diesel combustion engine system comprising: a diesel combustion engine having a liquid fuel intake, an air intake, a reformate intake, and an exhaust outlet; a liquid diesel fuel source in fluid communication with said liquid fuel intake and an on-board catalytic partial oxidation fuel reformer that receives a supply of hydrogen-containing liquid diesel fuel and a supply of air and produces therefrom a hydrogen-rich reformate; an exhaust conduit in fluid communication with said exhaust outlet and with said reformer, said exhaust conduit comprising a reformate conduit upstream from exhaust aftertreatment components selected from the group consisting of oxidation catalysts, NO x adsorbers, particulate filters, and combinations thereof; and control means for: (a) supplying, under conditions of low engine load, reformate or a combination of liquid diesel fuel and reformate to said engine, (b) supplying, under conditions of medium engine load, a combination of liquid diesel fuel and reformate to said engine, and (c) supplying, under conditions of high engine load, liquid diesel fuel only to said engine and reformate only to said exhaust conduit.