Exploring the potential of urea reforming in internal combustion engines

Abstract

This study numerically investigates the feasibility of employing urea reforming in internal combustion engines. A system, comprised of a urea reformer (converting a urea-water solution to ammonia, followed by ammonia conversion to hydrogen), a spark-ignition internal combustion engine, and an auxiliary burner, was modeled using 0D and 1D approaches. The analysis revealed that ammonia can only be partially converted to hydrogen due to the high energy consumption associated with the process. The research explored the system’s performance under various degrees of ammonia-to-hydrogen conversion, demonstrating that the indicated efficiency can reach up to 46% compare to 42% in case of same engine fed by natural gas. Additionally, an analysis of the reformer design was conducted.