On-board hydrogen-rich syngas production via waste heat recovery from compression-ignition engines: maximizing hydrogen content with novel multi-objective algorithms

A significant portion of fuel energy in internal combustion engines is lost as waste heat, yet limited efforts have been made to recover it effectively. This research explores the utilization of exhaust heat from a diesel engine to produce H 2 -rich syngas through the methanol-steam reforming (MSR) process. The engine operates at varying loads (15, 30, 45, and 60 Nm) while maintaining a constant speed of 2000 rpm. Exhaust heat is redirected to an MSR reactor, where the methanol-to-water (MtW) molar ratio is adjusted (0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2). Results reveal that the highest hydrogen content in syngas (70.3 %) is achieved at an engine load of 30 Nm and an MtW ratio of 1. To further optimize hydrogen production, three novel algorithms (DSC-MOPSO, MOSPO, and MOGWO) are applied to key operation parameters. Optimization increases hydrogen content to 72.5 % with DSC-MOPSO, 72.4 % with MOSPO, and 72.1 % with MOGWO, with error margins below 0.7 %. • Investigated onboard hydrogen production using exhaust gas heat from IC engines. • Conducted engine tests at various load combinations and constant speed to collect EGT data. • Integrated the EGT dataset into the Aspen environment to optimize the MtW molar ratio. • Employed three novel optimization algorithms (DSC-MOPSO, MOSPO, and MOGWO) to maximize hydrogen yield in syngas. • Achieved a 72.5 % increase in H 2 production using the DSC-MOPSO algorithm.