A fibre-mat catalytic burner for the heating system of PVC tiles

Abstract

This study aims to develop the low-temperature catalytic burner using Al 2 O 3 fibre and Pt catalyst as a substrate and an active material, respectively, and then to apply it to the heating system of PVC tiles. Three types of fibre-mat catalytic burners-natural diffusion catalytic burner, forced diffusion catalytic burner and premixed catalytic burner-were tested. For the natural diffusion catalytic burner, the combustion efficiency was significantly affected by the installation method. Its combustion efficiency was above 99. 5% when it was placed vertically and upward, whereas the combustion efficiency rapidly deteriorated to less than 80% when it was installed in downward position. When the forced diffusion combustion mode was employed, the combustion efficiency of the fibre-mat catalytic burner was successively improved over 99.5%. The optimal operation condition of the premixed fibre-mat catalytic burner was obtained when the excess air ratio is 4.3 and the heat load is 3.0 kcal h -1 cm -2 . The heat load of the premixed catalytic burner was found to be twice as much as those of the natural and forced diffusion catalytic burner, meaning that the size of the catalytic burner can be reduced to its half if the premixed catalytic burner is used. We also performed the field test of the fibre-mat catalytic burner in the heating system of the PVC tiles. The combustion efficiency of the catalytic burners appeared to be satisfactory, above 99.5%, and the energy saving by replacing the existing electrical heaters with the fibre-mat catalytic burners were shown to be 27.7%.