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Exhaust Emissions and Aftertreatments of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines: A Review

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Abstract

Adopting carbon-neutral fuels is paramount to aligning internal combustion engines with global efforts to mitigate the impact of global warming. Hydrogen offers distinct advantages over other renewable fuels owing to its superior combustion properties. This comprehensive review explores three fuel injection systems suitable for using hydrogen as a fuel: mixers, port injections, and direct injections. Subsequently, we examined the emission characteristics of hydrogen internal combustion engines (HICE). Although nitric oxides (NOx) is the major emission from HICE, small quantities of hydrocarbon, CO, and CO2 should be expected due to engine oil burn. Moreover, we provide a concise overview of aftertreatment options, including urea-based selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and hydrogen-assisted SCR (H2-SCR).

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Abbreviations

LPG:

liquefied petroleum gas

CNG:

compressed natural gas

NOx:

nitric oxides

BSFC:

brake specific fuel consumption

SI:

spark ignition

CI:

compression ignition

HCCI:

homogeneous charge compression ignition

EGR:

exhaust gas recirculation

FKGR:

flame kernel growth rate

TWC:

three-way catalyst

HICE:

hydrogen internal combustion engine

SCR:

selective catalytic reduction

ASC:

ammonia slip catalyst

FTP:

federal test protocol

H2-SCR:

hydrogen-assisted selective catalytic reduction

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Acknowledgement

The authors would like to express sincere appreciation to the Engine Research Department at the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials for the support. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (No. 2022R1F1A1073885) and the Technology Innovation Program (20018148) funded by the Ministry of Trade, Industry, & Energy (MOTIE, Korea).

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    Junghwan Kim

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Kim, J. Exhaust Emissions and Aftertreatments of Hydrogen Internal Combustion Engines: A Review. Int.J Automot. Technol. 24, 1681–1690 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-023-0136-0

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