Portable Catalytic Drying Apparatus

Abstract

A catalytic heating apparatus 10 for drying, curing, polymerization and cross-linking of organic coatings and compounds, which includes a catalytic combustion chamber 1, a fuel supply 6, a regulating valve for controlling the flow of fuel 4, an injector for mixing the fuel with air thereby providing a uniform fuel-air mixture to the combustion chamber, a casing 5 connecting the fuel supply to the combustion chamber, and an air injection ring and a connector for connecting an air source to the air injection ring. The air injection ring may be a tube of circular cross-section, with regularly-spaced holes drilled on its surface so as to direct a flow of air towards the object being dried. The purpose of air injection is to facilitate evacuation of vapors from the surface of the object being dried. Drying is therefore achieved by a combination of radiation from the emitting surface and convection from the air injection ring.