Catalytic converter with thermoelectric generator
The unique design of an electrically heated catalyst (EHC) and the inclusion of an ECO valve in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine will meet the strict new emission requirements, especially at vehicle cold start, adopted by several states in this country as well as in Europe and Japan. The catalytic converter (CC) has been a most useful tool in pollution abatement for the automobile. But the emission requirements are becoming more stringent and, along with other improvements, the CC must be improved to meet these new standards. Coupled with the ECO valve, the EHC can meet these new emission limits. In an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV), approximately 80% of the energy consumed leaves the vehicle as waste heat: out the tail pipe, through the radiator, or convected/radiated off the engine. Included with the waste heat out the tail pipe are the products of combustion which must meet strict emission requirements. The design of a new CC is presented here. This is an automobile CC that has the capability of producing electrical power and reducing the quantity of emissions at vehicle cold start, the Thermoelectric Catalytic Power Generator. The CC utilizes the energy of the exothermic reactions that take place in the catalysis substrate to produce electrical energy with a thermoelectric generator. On vehicle cold start, the thermoelectric generator is used as a heat pump to heat the catalyst substrate to reduce the time to catalyst light-off. Thus an electrically heated catalyst (EHC) will be used to augment the abatement of tail pipe emissions. Included with the EHC in the exhaust stream of the automobile is the ECO valve. This valve restricts the flow of pollutants out the tail pipe of the vehicle for a specified amount of time until the EHC comes up to operating temperature. Then the ECO valve opens and allows the full exhaust, now treated by the EHC, to leave the vehicle.
- Research Organization:
- Parise Research Technologies, Suffield, CT (US)
- OSTI ID:
- 20000180
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 33rd Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, Colorado Springs, CO (US), 08/02/1998--08/06/1998; Other Information: 1 CD-ROM. Operating system required: Windows 3.x; Windows 95/NT; Macintosh; UNIX. All systems need 2X CD-ROM drive., PBD: 1998; Related Information: In: Proceedings of the 33. intersociety energy conversion engineering conference, by Anghaie, S. [ed.], [2800] pages.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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