Membrane catalytic heater
AssigneeGlobal Heating Technologies, GmbH
InventorsRobert G. Hockaday, Patrick S. Turner, Zachary R. Bradford, Marc D. DeJohn, Carlos J. Navas, Heathcliff L. Vaz
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A portable catalytic combustion heater, wherein fuel vapor (11) and air (10) are supplied to a catalyst (6) which promotes the flameless combustion of fuel and releases that. The fuel is supplied as a liquid, passes through a selectively permeable membrane (8) such that fuel vapor exits the membrane and is fed to the catalyst (6). Additional features include porous supports and means of enhancing and diminishing the catalytic rate of combustion and controlling the heat output.
Claims17
A heat-generating device comprising a fuel, a fuel delivery connected to the fuel, a catalyst dispersed over a porous substrate, wherein the catalyst is in diffusive contact with an oxidizing gas, a selectively permeable membrane for selectively delivering fuel from the fuel delivery to the catalyst;
- one or more heat exchangers for transferring heat from the device to the fuel, oxidizing gas or both;
- and one or more thermoelectric devices for extracting electrical energy, wherein the selectively permeable membrane is selectively permeable to gases and fuel boiling in the device and wherein the selectively permeable membrane is capable of changing diffusion rates with changes in temperature for regulating temperature of the device and for regulating heat output;
- and wherein the one or more thermoelectric devices for extracting electrical energy consists of Peltier junctions formed by blocks of semiconductor alloy.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.