Catalytic Reaction
Gas Infra Red Catalytic heaters work on the "heat without a flame" concept.
Natural Gas or Propane is passed through a pad which has been impregnated with Vulcan's proprietary catalyst. This catalyst oxidizes the gas thus releasing energy in the form of heat, water vapor,and carbon dioxide.
In order to initiate the reaction, the platinum catalyst needs to be preheated.
In Vulcan's heaters this is achieved by the inclusion of a low wattage electrical heating element embedded in the heater.
Once the catalyst has reached 149°C, and safety devices are activated by the preheat controls and gas is dispersed into the catalyst through the back of the heater. Oxygen for the reaction enters through the front of the heater face. The face screen protects the catalyst from process mishaps while allowing the air to freely reach the reaction sites of the catalytic process. Since the reaction temperature with current catalysts reaches a maximum of 538°C, which is well below the auto-ignition point for gas (704°C), the reaction is flameless. Two minutes after the gas enters the heater, the catalytic reaction is sufficiently established that the pre heater is turned off. The catalytic reaction is self sustaining until the gas supply is turned off.
Efficiency tests have established that up to 80% of the gas is converted into Infra Red heat.