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  Catalytic burner for combustion of liquid fuelsRelated Patent Categories: Combustion, Fibrous Wick Type Flame Holder, Liquid Fuel Container Carries Wick Guide Or SupportThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070202450. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/771,618, filed Feb. 8, 2006 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/771,918, filed Feb. 8, 2006. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] Currently, there are several flameless catalytic burners and lamps available on the market. Certain of these prior art devices are employed for the delivery of fragrance to a room or other area. The chemical delivery system (for the delivery of chemicals such as fragrances) employed in the prior art devices is based on the flameless combustion of a carrier solvent/fragrance mixture to deliver fragrance to the surrounding atmosphere. The system is composed of a reservoir for containing the solvent/fragrance mixture, and a wick that is attached to a macroporous flameless catalytic burner, to provide flow from the reservoir to the burner. Prior art flameless catalytic burners are typically 2.0 cm in length having an upper portion that is typically 1.7 cm in diameter, and a lower portion that is typically 1.1 cm in diameter. The upper portion contains the catalyst and performs the combustion, while the smaller, lower portion connects to a wick, typically made of cloth. The cloth wick transports the fuel from the reservoir to the catalytic burner. [0003] The solvent/fragrance mixture is approximately 90 wt % 2-propanol, 2 wt % essential oils (fragrance), and 8 wt % water. This mixture is transported through the cloth wick to the catalytic burner, where the 2-propanol is catalytically combusted, the heat of which vaporizes the fragrance. Vaporization of the fragrance increases the rate at which it is dispersed into the surrounding atmosphere. The 2-propanol-based fuel is typically combusted by a commercial platinum catalyst at approximately 215.degree. C. The prior art catalytic burners are composed of macroporous ceramic support materials that are formed from nonporous materials, such as cristobalite, and are capable of absorbing the solvent/fragrance mixture. There are several disadvantages associated with the prior art catalytic burners. Firstly, they achieve only partial combustion of the 2-propanol fuel such that acetone and the volatile organic compound (VOC) 2-propanol are released into the atmosphere as pollutants. Partial combustion also results in coke build-up that reduces catalyst efficiency and eventually deactivates the catalyst. Secondly, the catalyst layer is located only on the outer surface of the burner, and does not penetrate into the interior regions of the burner. This arrangement requires the fuel to travel farther up into the burner before combustion can take place. Another drawback to the prior art burners is that because of their low porosity or lack of porosity, they cannot absorb low vapor pressure (LVP) fuels at a rate sufficient to sustain catalytic burning of the fuels. LVP fuels are generally more desirable because they generate fewer VOC pollutants than traditional fuels. [0004] In light of the disadvantages discussed above, there is therefore a need for a flameless catalytic burner system that can overcome the problems prevalent in presently available devices. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0005] The invention is directed to a catalytic burner system comprising a burner constructed of at least one molecule sieve, where the burner comprises an upper portion and a lower portion; a catalyst, wherein said catalyst is dispersed within the upper portion of the burner; a wick, wherein said wick comprises an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion of the wick being connected to the lower portion of the burner; and, a reservoir, wherein said reservoir houses a liquid fuel that is contacted by the lower portion of the wick. [0006] The invention is also directed to a method for combusting a liquid fuel comprising, a burner constructed of at least one molecular sieve, wherein said burner has a first, upper portion and a second, lower portion; providing a wick that is connected to the lower portion of the burner; providing a catalyst that is dispersed within the upper portion of the burner; providing a reservoir that contain liquid fuel; contacting the wick with the liquid fuel; and, transmitting the fuel from the reservoir to the burner through the wick. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0007] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-section of a first catalytic burner system of the invention; [0008] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-section of a second catalytic burner system of the invention; and, [0009] FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-section of a catalytic burner of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS [0010] An embodiment of the invention provides a flameless catalytic burner capable of absorbing fuels at a rate sufficient to maintain autocatalytic combustion. [0011] An embodiment of the invention provides a burner that is constructed of highly porous crystalline materials, such as zeolites, which provides a flow rate of fuels that is sufficient to allow the catalyst to function, but low enough to prevent the fuel from extinguishing the catalyst. An optimal or preferred fuel travel rate in a zeolite-based burner is 0.6 ml/min. [0012] In an embodiment of the invention, a molecular sieve-based burner is composed of a shaped structure comprising an upper portion that contains a catalyst. The lower portion of the burner does not contain catalyst, and is shaped with a shoulder that facilitates placement of the burner in a reservoir. The upper portion of the burner can be of any shape having linear edges including, pyramidal, octagonal, or hexagonal. This lower portion of the burner sits on top of a reservoir having a neck, which in turn permits the shoulder of the burner to contact the neck of the reservoir. The lower portion of the burner is connected to an upper portion of a wick. The lower portion of the wick contacts fuel located in the reservoir. The wick transports the fuel from the reservoir to the catalyst. [0013] In certain embodiments of the invention, the wick is constructed from a porous material. In an embodiment of the invention, the wick is made of zeolites. In another embodiment of the invention, the wick is made of cloth, for e.g., woven cloth wick or a woven cotton wick. In certain embodiments of the invention, the wick is constructed from porous materials other than zeolites, such as porous ceramic materials. [0014] The wick of the present invention is a solid structure which, unlike wicks used in prior art burner systems, does not contain a concentric hole along its longitudinal centerline. [0015] In certain embodiments of the invention, the fuel is a liquid fuel. The preferred liquid fuel for use is a LVP fuel that generates lower amounts of VOCs than traditional fuels. [0016] An embodiment of the invention provides a zeolite-based flameless catalytic burner that can reach a higher working temperature than currently available burners. This feature reduces the emission of VOCs from the burner, which in turn reduces coking. [0017] A specific industrial application for a catalytic burner is its use in a flameless lamp. However, one of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize that the catalytic burner described herein has numerous industrial applications including, portable stoves, radiant heater, dispersant systems for various as fragrances, insecticides, aromatherapy compounds, fungicides and herbicides; heat producing components in portable heat pumps, micro-chemical reactor system, heat source in portable warmers, and any application in which a portable heater is required. [0018] An embodiment of the invention relates to a catalytic burner made of a porous molecular sieve material on which a metal catalyst is supported. The porous structure absorbs fuel, which is catalytically combusted by catalyst that is supported on the burner. [0019] As depicted in FIG. 1, a catalytic burner system 10 comprising a burner 11 and wick 12 is shown. The burner 11 comprises an upper portion 11a, and a lower portion 11b. The lower portion of the burner 11b comprises a shoulder 11c. The burner 11 further comprises a vertical portion 11d that extends below the shoulder 11c. The lower portion of the burner tapers inward such that the diameter of the lower portion of the burner is smaller than the diameter of the upper portion of the burner. The diameter of the upper portion of the catalytic burner shown in FIG. 1 ranges from 1.0 to 2.0 cm, and the length of the burner ranges from 1.0 to 2 cm. A close-up view of the burner is illustrated in FIG. 3. Continue reading... Full patent description for Catalytic burner for combustion of liquid fuels Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Catalytic burner for combustion of liquid fuels patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. 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