Oxygen enrichment for internal combustion engines

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a system is provided comprising an oxygen-enrichment reverse osmosis unit coupled to an intake of an internal combustion engine. Ambient air is supplied to the reverse osmosis unit via an ambient-air inlet and oxygen-enriched air is output via an oxygen-enriched outlet. The oxygen-enriched outlet is coupled to the intake of a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine. Providing oxygen-enriched air relative to ambient air to the internal combustion engine allows for reducing the size of the combustion chamber while providing equivalent power, resulting in a smaller engine. At the same time, the smaller engine saves consumption of fuel due to lower engine weight and more complete combustion. The smaller engine is also cheaper to build because it requires less material for fabrication.

1 . An oxygen enrichment system for an internal combustion engine comprising: 
 a reverse osmosis unit adapted to receive ambient air and provide oxygen-enriched air wherein the oxygen-enriched air is supplied to an intake of a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, the oxygen-enriched air having an oxygen concentration greater than ambient air.    
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the unit comprises: 
 a permeable membrane adapted for continuously dividing a supply of pressurized ambient air into an oxygen-enriched air stream and an oxygen-reduced air stream.    
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the unit comprises: 
 a compressor for providing the supply of pressurized air to the membrane.    
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the membrane is permeable to oxygen.  
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the membrane is permeable to nitrogen.  
     
     
         6 . A system comprising: 
 an oxygen-enrichment reverse osmosis unit including a reverse osmosis apparatus comprising a pressurized air inlet, an oxygen-enriched outlet, an oxygen-reduced outlet, and a membrane, the membrane separating the oxygen-enriched outlet and an oxygen-reduced outlet, the reverse osmosis unit adapted to accept pressurized ambient air into the pressurized air inlet and provide oxygen-enriched air out of the oxygen-enriched outlet and oxygen-reduced air out of the oxygen-reduced outlet, the oxygen-enriched air having a greater concentration of oxygen as the ambient air; and    an internal combustion engine comprising an intake in fluid communication with a combustion chamber, the oxygen-enriched outlet of the reverse osmosis unit in fluid communication with the intake.    
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the membrane is characterized by a relatively high permeability to oxygen and relatively low permeability to nitrogen.  
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the reverse osmosis unit further comprises: a compressor having a compressor inlet and a compressor outlet, the compressor adapted to accept ambient air into the compressor inlet and produce a supply of pressurized air to the pressurized air inlet of the reverse osmosis apparatus.  
     
     
         9 - 10 . (canceled)  
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the compressor comprises a compressor drive shaft adapted to drive the compressor so as to deliver pressurized air at a predetermined pressure to the pressurized air inlet of the reverse osmosis apparatus, wherein the internal combustion engine further comprises an engine drive shaft, the engine drive shaft operably coupled to the compressor drive shaft for delivering mechanical power to the compressor drive shaft so as to drive the compressor.  
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising: 
 a valve having a first valve inlet, a second valve inlet and a valve outlet; and    a valve control system comprising a controller and a pressure sensor, and wherein the reverse osmosis unit further comprises an ambient air conduit having an ambient air inlet, the ambient air conduit in fluid communication with the first valve inlet, the compressor outlet in fluid communication with the second valve inlet, and the valve outlet in fluid communication with the pressurized air inlet of the reverse osmosis apparatus, the valve adapted to mix and isolate the output from the ambient air conduit and the compressor outlet, the pressure sensor adapted to measure the pressure within the ambient air conduit and adapted to provide a signal in communication with the controller, the controller in communication with the valve and the compressor, the controller adapted to control the output of the valve and the speed of the compressor in relationship to a signal of the pressure sensor.    
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising an oxygen sensor adapted to provide a signal in communication with the controller, the oxygen sensor adapted to measure the concentration of oxygen at the oxygen-enriched outlet, the controller adapted to control the output of the valve and the speed of the compressor in relationship to the signal of the pressure sensor and the signal of the oxygen sensor.  
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 6 , further comprising: 
 a storage tank having a tank inlet and a tank outlet, the tank inlet in fluid communication with the oxygen-enriched outlet and the tank outlet in fluid communication with the intake of the internal combustion engine.    
     
     
         15 . (canceled)  
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 6 , further comprising: 
 a valve having a first valve inlet, a second valve inlet and a valve outlet; and    a valve control system comprising a controller and an oxygen sensor, and wherein the reverse osmosis unit further comprises an ambient air conduit having an ambient air inlet, the ambient air conduit in fluid communication with the second valve inlet, the oxygen-enriched outlet in fluid communication with the first valve inlet, and the valve outlet in fluid communication with the intake of the internal combustion engine, the valve adapted to preferentially mix the output from the ambient air conduit and the oxygen-enriched outlet, the oxygen sensor adapted to measure the concentration of oxygen at the intake, the controller adapted to control the first and second inlets of the valve so as to control the oxygen concentration of the output of the valve in relationship to the signal of the oxygen sensor.    
     
     
         17 . (canceled)  
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the oxygen to nitrogen ratio of the oxygen-enriched air is 40 to 60.  
     
     
         19 . (canceled)  
     
     
         20 . A method for increasing the performance of internal combustion engines, comprising: 
 using a reverse osmosis unit to supply oxygen-enriched air to an intake of a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.    
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein using a reverse osmosis unit to supply oxygen-enriched air to an intake of a combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine comprises: 
 passing pressurized ambient air through the reverse osmosis unit to produce an oxygen-enriched stream of air having a concentration of oxygen greater than that of the ambient air; and    supplying the oxygen-enriched air to the intake of the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine.    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein using a reverse osmosis unit comprises using an oxygen-enrichment reverse osmosis unit including a reverse osmosis apparatus comprising a pressurized air inlet, an oxygen-enriched outlet, an oxygen-reduced outlet, and a membrane, the membrane separating the oxygen-enriched outlet and an oxygen-reduced outlet, the reverse osmosis unit adapted to accept pressurized ambient air into the pressurized air inlet and provide oxygen-enriched air out of the oxygen-enriched outlet and oxygen-reduced air out of the oxygen-reduced outlet, the oxygen-enriched air having a greater concentration of oxygen as the ambient air, the oxygen-enriched outlet of the reverse osmosis unit in fluid communication with the intake.