Overview of Infrared Catalytic Combustion Technology

Infrared catalytic combustion is an advanced technology that efficiently combines catalytic combustion with infrared heat transfer. Its core principle is to utilize a catalyst to achieve complete oxidation of fuel at lower temperatures, and to efficiently output the heat energy released by the reaction in the form of high-intensity infrared radiation, thereby achieving the dual goals of improved energy efficiency and reduced pollution.

Key Components

Catalyst: Typically, precious metals (such as Pd, Pt) or transition metal oxides are used as the active components. Their core function is to significantly reduce the activation energy of the fuel oxidation reaction, allowing fuels such as methane to undergo deep, flameless, and complete oxidation at lower temperatures (e.g., 400-600°C). This prevents the generation of incomplete combustion products (such as CO and soot) at the source and inhibits the formation of high-temperature thermal nitrogen oxides.

Infrared Radiation: Infrared radiation is not externally input energy, but rather the main form of energy output converted from the heat of the catalytic reaction by the incandescent honeycomb ceramic carrier.

Support: The catalyst needs to be supported on a carrier with a high specific surface area. Honeycomb ceramic plates are currently the most common carrier form, and their role is crucial:

Providing a huge reaction interface: Its dense parallel channel structure provides a huge geometric surface area, allowing for the loading of sufficient catalyst to ensure full contact between the reaction gas and the catalyst.

Achieving flameless combustion and infrared conversion: The catalytic reaction proceeds gently on the inner walls of the honeycomb ceramic channels, and the released heat quickly heats the ceramic substrate to an incandescent state (500-800°C), making it a high-intensity, uniform infrared radiation source.

Ensuring structural reliability: Ceramic materials have excellent thermal shock resistance and mechanical strength, enabling them to withstand repeated start-ups and long-term high-temperature operation.

Technical Principles

The working process can be summarized as follows: A mixture of fuel and air passes through the honeycomb ceramic channels loaded with a catalyst → Low-temperature catalytic oxidation reaction occurs on the catalyst surface, generating CO₂ and H₂O and releasing a large amount of reaction heat → The reaction heat is rapidly absorbed by the ceramic carrier, causing its temperature to rise sharply to a red-hot state → The incandescent ceramic carrier converts thermal energy into high-intensity infrared radiation and emits it outwards → The infrared rays directly penetrate and heat the target object, achieving efficient thermal energy utilization.

Main Advantages

Ultra-high energy efficiency: The catalytic reaction approaches complete combustion, ensuring full release of chemical energy; infrared radiation heat transfer is direct and has minimal losses, resulting in an overall thermal efficiency that is typically 30%-50% higher than traditional methods.

Ultra-low emissions: The low-temperature catalytic combustion mechanism fundamentally eliminates soot generation and greatly inhibits the production of thermal NOx, resulting in emission indicators (CO < 0.02%, NOx < 10 ppm) far superior to conventional standards.

Excellent heating quality: Infrared radiation heating is uniform and has strong penetration power, effectively avoiding problems such as overheating of the workpiece surface or incomplete drying of the core, thus improving product processing quality.

Stable and reliable operation: Catalytic combustion broadens the flammability limits, ensuring stable combustion; the absence of open flames eliminates localized high-temperature points, resulting in a longer equipment lifespan and lower maintenance requirements.

Application Areas

Industrial heating and drying: Such as drying in coating lines, textile printing and dyeing, printing drying, food processing, etc., with significant energy-saving effects.

Clean combustion equipment: Used in the manufacture of high-efficiency, low-emission industrial gas radiant heaters, commercial stoves, etc.

Exhaust gas purification: Can be used as part of catalytic oxidation (CO) technology to treat low-concentration VOCs exhaust gas, achieving efficient destruction of pollutants at lower ignition temperatures.

Summary

The core of infrared catalytic combustion technology lies in the perfect integration of "catalysis" and "infrared": catalysis is the chemical reaction basis for achieving efficient and clean combustion; infrared is the physical output form that enables efficient and uniform transfer of reaction heat energy. The honeycomb ceramic carrier is the key platform for this process. This technology represents an important development direction for the clean and efficient utilization of gaseous fuels. We are a Chinese industrial ceramics manufacturer. For more information about far-infrared honeycomb ceramic combustion plates, please contact us via email at annayu@169chem.net or WhatsApp at +8618909016373.