An Experimental Study of Air-Reformed Natural Gas in Spark-Ignited Engines

An experimental study of the use of air-reformed natural gas (natural gas broken down into hydrogen and carbon monoxide) in a spark-ignited engine was performed. Results measured included work output, brake efficiency, and the output of NO_X) CO and total hydrocarbons. The principle variables were the equivalence ratio and the fraction of fuel reformed.

The hydrogen in the reformed fuel allowed the engine to run leaner than when running on natural gas, especially when higher fractions of reformed fuel were used. At the leaner equivalence ratios low levels of NO_x were observed, with NO_x mole fractions frequently below 10 ppm. Carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons were generally reduced by the reformed fuel. Efficiencies were higher with reformed fuel in some ranges of operation, and about the same in other ranges of operation.