Before Coolfire® technology, no catalytic combustion was completely enclosed. All have been open to the atmosphere. Learning how to enclose such a reaction while providing enough oxygen to adequately burn the fuel was the challenge that needed a solution.
We solved that. Cliff Welles, founder of CNW, has been working in the catalytic field for more than 20 years and changed all that. As a result, CNW has been granted patents covering our technology.
What does this change? Why is this a big deal? Let’s go over some of the advantages.
The Advantages of Catalytic Heating in General:
- A catalytic reaction allows the combustion to take place ONLY on the surface where the catalyst is placed. By placing that catalyst in the appropriate spot, (on the surface that you want heated), the designer can direct the heat to occur where it makes the most design sense, unlike a flame-based design where the physics of flame orientation severely limits this option. This property of catalytic heat can be applied so as to increase the heating efficiency.
- A catalytic reaction can be started much more easily than one without a catalyst involved, allowing ignition without flame or other high energy sources (e.g. spark).
- A catalytic reaction can be run at a much lower temperature than flame based reactions, significantly increasing the safety profile.
- A catalytic reaction is largely orientation insensitive. Unlike flame based heating, a catalytically heated travel mug can be designed to function just as well lying on its side as it would when operated in the standard resting position (.i.e.vertical ).
Added Coolfire® advantages
- An enclosed reaction is safe. That is, there is NO way for a flame to get out of the reaction chamber. No fire can be started even by someone not using the device correctly.
- This allows catalytic heating to move from industrial to consumer products!
- An enclosed catalytic reaction not only does not have a flame but also goes a step further by completely isolating the user, as well as, the products internal structure from exposure to the hot reaction zone. This allows for a much more compact and lightweight design. By allowing better control of where the heat energy is directed, Coolfire® makes new product applications possible.
- An enclosed reaction can be better monitored and controlled. If the reaction were not enclosed, then some of the O2 would be coming from the outside the fuel-air stream (i.e. air diffusing in from the surrounding atmosphere). This makes it harder to control the reaction precisely to insure best combustion. In an enclosed reaction, all of the fuel AND O2 can be premixed in exact amounts to obtain the most favorable combustion state. With Coolfire® technology, our enclosed reactions have virtually NO pollutants exhausted!
- With the use of sensors, it is easy to ascertain the temperature, and thus with a simple control unit, to automatically adjust the fuel-air flow rate and ratio in order to maintain the temperature at any particular level.
- An enclosed reaction is windproof thus less affected by outside conditions.
Thus, with a Coolfire® technology device, one can burn any appropriate fuel in perfect safety.
Such a device can be entirely controlled by digital logic, with real-time temperature also displayed digitally. In many ways, such a device is more like a small microwave than a stovetop.
Like a microwave, where most people feel very safe, Coolfire® operational simplicity and ultra-safe profile engenders a similar spirit. It could be operated in a car, on a boat, in an office, on a hiking trail, by most anyone that can push a button. The temperature can be set to whatever the user wants, and the temperature once achieved will stay at exactly that temperature for as long as you want or potentially set a pattern of temperatures much like an InstantPot®