Fuel tank inerting system and method

Abstract

A system is disclosed for inerting a fuel tank. The system includes a fuel tank and an air separator including a membrane with a permeability differential between oxygen and nitrogen, an air inlet and an inert gas outlet in fluid communication with a first side of the membrane, and a sweep gas inlet and an oxygen-enriched gas outlet in fluid communication with a second side of the membrane. An inert gas flow path is arranged to receive inert gas from the air separation module oxygen-depleted air outlet, and to direct inert gas to the fuel tank. A catalytic reactor is arranged to receive a fuel and air, and configured to catalytically react the fuel and oxygen in the air to form an oxygen-depleted gas, and to discharge the oxygen-depleted gas from a reactor outlet. A sweep gas flow path from the reactor outlet to the air separator sweep gas inlet.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.