Patent ID: 7296400

Claim:
An internal combustion engine capable of reforming and recycling a portion of fuel included in exhaust gas from a combustion chamber comprising: an exhaust passage where exhaust gas from the combustion chamber flows; a reformer disposed in the exhaust passage to assure heat exchange with the exhaust gas from the exhaust passage and that has a reforming reaction chamber including a fuel reforming catalyst for reforming the fuel in the exhaust gas; a branch passage that branches from the exhaust passage at a branch portion provided upstream from the reformer, is connected to the reforming reaction chamber, and directs exhaust gas to the reforming reaction chamber, the reformer being disposed in a portion of the exhaust gas passage that is downstream from the branch portion so as to exchange heat with the exhaust gas that does not flow through the branch passage; a fuel removal portion that removes the fuel that does not flow from the exhaust passage to the branch passage, and which is provided downstream from the branch portion; and a reformed fuel return passage that returns the fuel reformed in the reforming reaction chamber to an intake system for recycling the reformed fuel to be used again as fuel in a combustion process.