Patent ID: 7367183

Claim:
An internal combustion engine comprising: a reformer for generating hydrogen, wherein the reformer has a single operating mode in which it generates a constant amount of reformate, said constant amount being as much or more reformate than needed for purification of the maximum quantity of exhaust gas generated independent of the exhaust gas; a distributor apparatus provided at the output end of the reformer, wherein the distributor apparatus is connected at the output end to an intake train of the internal combustion engine and to an ammonia generator; and a cooler; wherein the ammonia generator is connected to an exhaust train of the internal combustion engine at the output end upstream from an SCR catalyst, wherein the distributor apparatus is equipped to divide the reformate between the intake train and the ammonia generator as a function of the operating state of the internal combustion engine; and wherein the cooler is tied into a heating circuit for heating at least one of the internal combustion engine; an interior of a vehicle equipped with the internal combustion engine; and an oxidation catalyst of the exhaust train in a cold start.