Ceramic Fuel Cells to replace metal burners

Global warming is thought to result from emissions largely caused by combustion reactions. Designs of burners and specifications of their materials are therefore of primary importance in restraining the warming phenomena. This paper proposes a new type of ceramic burner which incorporates many of the innovations which are needed to improve burner performance, including catalytic combustion, premixed fuel/air, recuperation of combustion heat, recycling of reaction products, electric-ignition and electron extraction. The key problems of fuel variation and thermal shock resistance of the ceramic are addressed through the concept of 'reaction gradient' in which the rich sequence of oxidation reactions during combustion is spread through three extended catalytic regimes along the isothermal ceramic device. It is evident that ceramic burners are necessary to provide catalytic activity and to promote electron transfer. The conclusion is that ceramic will ultimately replace metal in burners requiring low emissions and high exergy output. (C) 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers.