EXHAUST GAS RECEIVER, INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND METHOD FOR SELECTIVE CATALYTIC REDUCTION

Abstract

An exhaust gas receiver that is connectable to an internal combustion engine for receiving exhaust gases from the engine, the exhaust gas receiver comprising a receiver chamber, at least one exhaust inlet, at least one exhaust outlet, and a reducing agent duct, at least a portion of the reducing agent duct being arranged inside the receiver chamber for heating the reducing agent before the reducing agent is mixed with the exhaust gases. The invention also concerns an internal combustion engine and a method for selective catalytic reduction.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an exhaust gas receiver according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also concerns an internal combustion engine and a method for selective catalytic reduction of exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, as defined in the preambles of the other independent claims.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions of internal combustion engines in ships and power plants are a growing concern and subject to continuously tightening regulations set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and other legislative bodies. To a certain extent, the requirements set by different regulations can be met by means that are directly related to the operation of the engine, such as exhaust gas recirculation, high fuel injection pressures in diesel engines, water injection into the air intake duct etc. However, many engine-related measures for reducing NOx emissions have a negative effect on the fuel efficiency, and they are not adequate for meeting the most stringent emission limits. For ultimate NOx reduction, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is needed. With the SCR, NOx reductions of up to 90% or even greater can be achieved.

In an SCR system a catalyst material and a reducing agent are used to decompose the NOx formed during the combustion back to the basic elements. In a typical SCR system, the catalyst is arranged on the surface of a supporting ceramic material forming a honeycomb structure inside a reactor. On the surface of the catalyst, the NOx reacts with ammonia that is used as the reducing agent and nitrogen and water is formed. In practice, urea is often used instead of ammonia for safety reasons. This applies especially to the marine applications, where leaking ammonia is a serious hazard. Urea is injected into the exhaust gas flow in an aqueous solution. Due to the high temperature of the exhaust gas, water evaporates and the urea molecules break up into ammonia and carbon dioxide.

A typical SCR system comprises a urea tank, from which the urea solution is delivered by means of a pumping unit. A dosing unit is used to provide the correct urea solution flow rate for injection. The urea solution is injected into the exhaust gas duct by means of an injection unit. An often used injection unit type comprises two coaxial pipes, of which the inner one is for the urea solution and the outer one for compressed air that is mixed with the urea solution in a nozzle to form a fine spray that mixes with the exhaust gas flow. An alternative solution is to use high-pressure urea injection without air-assisting.

For effective NOx reduction and minimized usage of urea, as well as for minimum ammonia slip through the SCR system, effective mixing of the urea with the exhaust gas flow is essential. In many prior art solutions, sufficient mixing has been ensured by arranging a relatively long exhaust duct section between the point of urea injection and the catalyst elements. However, this sets limitations for the construction of the exhaust system. Especially in ships, where the available space is limited, it is desirable that the exhaust system requires as little space as possible. In addition, if the catalytic converter is placed far from the engine, low temperature of the exhaust gases may have a negative effect on the functioning of the catalytic converter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved exhaust gas receiver that facilitates the mixing of reducing agent with exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine. The characterizing features of the exhaust gas receiver according to the present invention are given in the characterizing part of claim 1. Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved internal combustion engine and a method for selective catalytic reduction of exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine. The characterizing features of the internal combustion engine and the method according to the present invention are given in the characterizing parts of the other independent claims.

According to the present invention, the exhaust gas receiver that is connectable to an internal combustion engine for receiving exhaust gases from the engine comprises a receiver chamber, at least one exhaust inlet, at least one exhaust outlet, and a reducing agent duct, at least a portion of the reducing agent duct being arranged inside the receiver chamber for heating the reducing agent before the reducing agent is mixed with the exhaust gases.

According to the present invention, in the method for selective catalytic reduction of exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, reducing agent is mixed with exhaust gases of the engine, and the mixture of the reducing agent and the exhaust gases is guided through a catalyst element. Before being mixed with the exhaust gases, the reducing agent is heated in a receiver chamber of an exhaust gas receiver.

The invention has several advantages. When the reducing agent is heated in the exhaust gas receiver before being mixed with exhaust gases, good mixing can be achieved even when the mixing distance is short. The size and weight of the SCR system can consequently be substantially reduced. Due to the effective mixing, also the catalyst elements that are used for selective catalytic reduction can be arranged before turbochargers.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the exhaust gas receiver comprises means for injecting reducing agent into the exhaust gas receiver. If the injection nozzles are integrated with the exhaust gas receiver, a modular structure can be achieved.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the means for injecting reducing agent are arranged to inject the reducing agent into the receiver chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the means for injecting reducing agent are arranged to inject the reducing agent into the exhaust inlet. If the means for injecting the reducing agent are arranged in the exhaust inlet, the mixing distance can be maximized.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the means for injecting reducing agent are connected to the reducing agent duct with first connecting ducts that are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver. When the first connecting ducts are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver, heat transfer from the exhaust gases to the reducing agent can be increased.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the exhaust gas receiver comprises a pressure medium duct supplying pressure medium for facilitating the injection of the reducing agent, and at least a portion of the pressure medium duct is arranged inside the receiver chamber for heating the pressure medium. By mixing the reducing agent with for instance pressurized air, the reducing agent mixes even better with the exhaust gases. Heating of the pressurized air helps to vaporize the water in the reducing agent solution and to break the urea molecules.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the pressure medium duct is connected to the means for injecting reducing agent with second connecting ducts that are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver. When the second connecting ducts are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver, heat transfer from the exhaust gases to the pressure medium can be increased.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a mixing chamber is arranged inside the receiver chamber. Inside the mixing chamber, the reducing agent can be mixed with a smaller amount of exhaust gases before being introduced into the receiver chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the mixing chamber comprises apertures opening into the receiver chamber. According to another embodiment of the invention, the exhaust gas receiver comprises a fan or compressor for introducing exhaust gas into the mixing chamber. According to another embodiment of the invention, the exhaust gas receiver comprises means for injecting reducing agent into the mixing chamber. From the mixing chamber, the reducing agent and exhaust gases can be introduced through the apertures into the receiver chamber by the pressure difference between the chambers. The fan or compressor facilitates the exhaust gas flow into the mixing chamber and also out of the chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a catalyst element is arranged inside the receiver chamber. When the catalyst element is arranged inside the receiver chamber, no separate reactor is needed for the catalyst elements and a compact SCR arrangement can be achieved. The selective catalytic reduction can also take place immediately after the engine before any turbocharger.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the exhaust outlet of the exhaust gas receiver is connectable to a turbocharger.

The internal combustion engine according to the present invention comprises an exhaust gas receiver defined above, the exhaust gas receiver being connected to the engine for receiving exhaust gases from the engine.

According to an embodiment of the invention, in the method for selective catalytic reduction the reducing agent is heated by guiding it through a reducing agent duct that is arranged at least partly inside the receiver chamber of the exhaust gas receiver.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the reducing agent is injected into the exhaust inlets of the exhaust gas receiver.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the reducing agent is mixed with exhaust gases in a mixing chamber that is arranged inside the receiver chamber.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the injection of the reducing agent is facilitated by pressure medium, and the pressure medium is heated in the receiver chamber before being mixed with the reducing agent.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the mixture of the exhaust gases and the reducing agent is guided through a catalyst element that is arranged inside the receiver chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an internal combustion engine with an exhaust gas receiver.

FIG. 2 shows an exhaust gas receiver according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a partially cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a partially cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 shows a partially cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a fourth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a partially cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 shows a partially cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to an eight embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a cross-sectional view of an exhaust gas receiver according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are now described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1 is shown an internal combustion engine 14 that is provided with an exhaust gas receiver 1 for receiving exhaust gases from the engine 14. The exhaust gas receiver 1 is arranged on top of the engine 14 so that the longitudinal axis of the exhaust gas receiver 1 is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the engine 14. The engine 14 of FIG. 1 is a large two-stroke internal combustion engine comprising seven cylinders that are arranged inline. However, the invention is not limited to two-stroke engines or to engines with a certain cylinder configuration or number of cylinders, but can also be applied to four-stroke engines and for instance to engines where the cylinders are arranged in a V-configuration. Although the invention is particularly advantageous when used with ship engines, it can also be applied for instance to engines that are used at power plants. The engine 14 is provided with two turbochargers 15a, 15b that are connected to exhaust outlets 4a, 4b of the exhaust gas receiver 1. The number of the exhaust outlets 4 and turbochargers 15 can vary for instance based on the number of cylinders in the engine 14. In FIG. 1 is shown two turbochargers 15a, 15b that are arranged in parallel, but the engine 14 could also be provided with two-stage turbocharging, where two turbo-chargers are arranged in series.

Exhaust gas receivers 1 according to different embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 2-10. The exhaust gas receiver 1 comprises an elongated cylindrical receiver chamber 2, exhaust inlets 3 and exhaust outlets 4. In the embodiments of the figures, the number of the exhaust inlets 3 equals the number of the cylinders of the engine 14. However, also other arrangements are possible. Instead of having one exhaust inlet 3 for each cylinder of the engine 14, the cylinders of the engine 14 could be connected to a common duct that is connected to one or more exhaust inlet 3 of the exhaust gas receiver 1. Alternatively, for instance in a V-engine, the engine could be provided with one exhaust gas receiver 1 for each bank of the engine and both exhaust gas receivers 1 would comprise one exhaust inlet 3 for each cylinder of the corresponding bank of the engine.

For facilitating the mixing of reducing agent with exhaust gases of the engine 14 before selective catalytic reduction, the reducing agent is heated in the exhaust gas receiver 1 before being mixed with the exhaust gases. The reducing agent can be for instance ammonia that is delivered in the form of a urea-water solution. For heating the reducing agent, part of a reducing agent duct 5 is arranged inside the receiver chamber 2 of the exhaust gas receiver 1. When the reducing agent flows in the reducing agent duct 5 inside the receiver chamber 2, hot exhaust gases heat the reducing agent. The length of the portion of the reducing agent duct 5 that is inside the receiver chamber 2 is chosen so that sufficient temperature of the reducing agent is achieved. The needed temperature depends for instance on the type of the reducing agent and the distance between the reducing agent injection point and catalyst elements. The achieved temperature depends for instance on the flow speed of the reducing agent and the exhaust gas temperature in the receiver chamber 2.

The reducing agent is injected into the exhaust gas receiver 1 through nozzles 8. In the embodiments of FIGS. 2-8, the reducing agent is injected into the exhaust inlets 3 of the exhaust gas receiver 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 9, the reducing agent is injected into the receiver chamber 2 of the exhaust gas receiver 1. In the embodiment of FIG. 10, the reducing agent is injected into a mixing chamber 9. The mixing chamber 9 is arranged inside the receiver chamber 2 and it is separated with a wall 10 from the receiver chamber 2. The mixing chamber 9 could also be a separate chamber outside the exhaust gas receiver 1. The wall 10 of the mixing chamber 9 is provided with holes 11, through which the reducing agent that is mixed with exhaust gases can be introduced into the receiver chamber 2. The exhaust gas receiver 1 can be provided with a fan or compressor that is used to introduce exhaust gases into the mixing chamber 9. When part of the exhaust gases of the engine 14 are introduced into the mixing chamber 9 together with the preheated reducing agent, temperature of the reducing agent is further increased.

To further facilitate the mixing of the reducing agent with the exhaust gases, the reducing agent can be mixed in the nozzles 8 with pressurized air. The pressurized air is introduced into the nozzles 8 through a pressure medium duct 6. Also the pressure medium duct 6 can be arranged partly inside the receiver chamber 2 of the exhaust gas receiver 1, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5 and 7-10. The nozzles 8 are connected to the reducing agent duct 5 with a first connecting duct 12 and to the pressure medium duct 6 with a second connecting duct 13. In the embodiments of FIGS. 7-10, each nozzle 8 is connected with its own connecting ducts 12, 13 to the reducing agent duct 5 and the pressure medium duct 6. In the embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4-6, the nozzles 8 are connected to a reducing agent distribution duct 16 and to a pressure medium distribution duct 17. The connecting ducts 12, 13 can be arranged either inside the exhaust gas receiver 1, as shown in FIGS. 8-10, or at least partly outside the exhaust gas receiver 1, as shown in FIG. 7. If the connecting ducts 12, 13 are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver 1, the temperature of the reducing agent and pressurized air can be increased more than in the arrangement where the connecting ducts 12, 13 are outside the receiver chamber 2. The distribution ducts 16, 17 and the connecting ducts 12, 13 can be insulated if they are arranged outside the exhaust gas receiver 1.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the reducing agent duct 5 and the pressure medium duct 6 are connected to a gasifier 18 that is outside the exhaust gas receiver 1. In the gasifier 18, the reducing agent and the pressure medium are mixed. The pressure medium can be air or some other gas, such as exhaust gas from the engine 14. From the gasifier 18, the reducing agent and the pressure medium are introduced into a feeding duct 19 where the mixture evaporates. The feeding duct 19 is outside the exhaust gas receiver 1 and accommodates the nozzles 8 that are used to inject the reducing agent into the exhaust inlets 3 of the exhaust gas receiver 1. In this embodiment, an insulating layer is arranged around the feeding duct 19. The feeding duct 19 could also be arranged inside the receiver chamber 2.

According to an embodiment of the invention, a catalyst element 7 is arranged inside the receiver chamber 2, as can be seen in FIGS. 3-10. With this arrangement, no separate reactor is needed for the catalyst elements 7 and the whole SCR process takes place inside the exhaust gas receiver 1. Alternatively, the catalyst elements 7 can be arranged in a separate reactor that is located close to the exhaust gas receiver 1.

In the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5, the SCR arrangement is provided with a pumping unit 20 that circulates the reducing agent inside the receiver chamber 2 keeping it at the optimal temperature. In FIG. 5 is also shown a control air duct 21 that is used to supply pressurized air for opening dosing valves that control the injection of the reducing agent.

It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but may vary within the scope of the appended claims. For instance, features of the different embodiments can be combined.

Claims

1. An exhaust gas receiver that is connectable to an internal combustion engine for receiving exhaust gases from the engine, the exhaust gas receiver comprising a receiver chamber, at least one exhaust inlet, and at least one exhaust outlet, wherein the exhaust gas receiver comprises a reducing agent duct, and at least a portion of the reducing agent duct is arranged inside the receiver chamber for heating the reducing agent before the reducing agent is mixed with the exhaust gases.

2. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust gas receiver comprises means for injecting reducing agent into the exhaust gas receiver.

3. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 2, wherein the means for injecting reducing agent are arranged to inject the reducing agent into the receiver chamber.

4. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 2, wherein the means for injecting reducing agent are arranged to inject the reducing agent into the exhaust inlet.

5. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 3, wherein the means for injecting reducing agent are connected to the reducing agent duct with first connecting ducts that are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver.

6. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust gas receiver comprises a pressure medium duct supplying pressure medium for facilitating the injection of the reducing agent, and at least a portion of the pressure medium duct is arranged inside the receiver chamber for heating the pressure medium.

7. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 6, wherein the pressure medium duct is connected to the means for injecting reducing agent with second connecting ducts that are arranged inside the exhaust gas receiver.

8. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, wherein a mixing chamber is arranged inside the receiver chamber.

9. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 8, wherein the mixing chamber comprises apertures opening into the receiver chamber.

10. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 8, wherein the exhaust gas receiver comprises a fan or compressor for introducing exhaust gas into the mixing chamber.

11. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 8, wherein the exhaust gas receiver comprises means for injecting reducing agent into the mixing chamber.

12. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, wherein a catalyst element is arranged inside the receiver chamber.

13. The exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust outlet of the exhaust gas receiver is connectable to a turbocharger.

14. The internal combustion engine, wherein the engine comprises an exhaust gas receiver according to claim 1, the exhaust gas receiver being connected to the engine for receiving exhaust gases from the engine.

15. A method for selective catalytic reduction of exhaust gases of an internal combustion engine, in which method reducing agent is mixed with exhaust gases of the engine, and the mixture of the reducing agent and the exhaust gases is guided through a catalyst element, wherein the reducing agent is heated in a receiver chamber of an exhaust gas receiver before being mixed with the exhaust gases.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the reducing agent is heated by guiding it through a reducing agent duct that is arranged at least partly inside the receiver chamber of the exhaust gas receiver.

17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the reducing agent is injected into the exhaust inlets of the exhaust gas receiver.

18. The method according to claim 15, wherein the reducing agent is mixed with exhaust gases in a mixing chamber that is arranged inside the receiver chamber.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein the injection of the reducing agent is facilitated by pressure medium, and the pressure medium is heated in the receiver chamber before being mixed with the reducing agent.

20. The method according to claim 15, wherein the mixture of the exhaust gases and the reducing agent is guided through a catalyst element that is arranged inside the receiver chamber.