Catalytic infrared technology eliminates the need for electricity in ovens

The commonly used ovens in households are powered by electricity. Electricity, as a secondary energy source, can only be obtained through the consumption of primary energy sources such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Is it possible to directly convert natural gas into heat without burning it, so that the oven can still cook food without electricity?

Recently, the Institute of Food Physics Processing at Jiangsu University actively collaborated with a certain electrical appliance group to explore the development of ovens that do not require electricity. The foundation of cooperation lies in the gas catalytic infrared heating technology and equipment developed by the team.

Professor Ma Haile from the Institute of Food Physics Processing at Jiangsu University told reporters that this new technology allows natural gas to be directly converted into infrared instead of being converted into electricity. Compared with electric infrared technology, this technology can save about 50% energy and has the advantages of high efficiency, cleanliness, and low cost.

New forms of thermal energy conversion

Natural gas is one of the three fossil fuels with the least carbon emissions, and how to maximize its benefits is a research topic for various countries. Among them, converting natural gas into infrared is a new form of thermal energy conversion that has received high attention internationally.

Ma Haile said that traditional infrared equipment relies on electricity as its energy source, which has high energy consumption and carbon emissions. The principle of gas catalytic infrared heating technology is that oxygen in gas and air is converted into carbon dioxide and water without combustion by the catalytic effect of precious metals, while releasing infrared radiation. The design and manufacturing of the core component of gas catalytic infrared heating technology, the emitter, has always been in the hands of European and American companies. In 2016, Ma Haile's research group developed China's first gas catalyzed infrared heating emitter.

In order to further improve the thermal conversion efficiency, reduce the temperature difference of the heating plate, and improve the performance of catalytic materials, the research team has finally made a breakthrough after more than 10 years of continuous research. At the expert appraisal meeting organized by the China Light Industry Federation in 2021, the expert group stated that this technology has achieved a breakthrough from "0 to 1" in this field in China, breaking the blockade of advanced foreign technology, freeing itself from dependence on imported advanced products from abroad, and core indicators such as surface temperature, heat uniformity, and power density have reached the standards of advanced products in Europe and America.

After obtaining the transmitter, the research team began to develop related equipment. Ma Haile introduced that they have developed four series of gas catalytic infrared heating equipment, including conveyor belt type, drum type, drying room type, and scanning type, using their independently developed catalytic infrared emitter.

The research group also led the drafting and release of China's first industry standard for gas catalytic infrared equipment. The national light industry standards for gas catalytic infrared emitters and catalytic infrared drying rooms, which are applying for project approval, are also being drafted.

Reduce energy consumption by more than 50%

The gas catalytic infrared heating technology abroad is mainly applied in the paint drying industry. Ma Haile's research group has many years of experience in the development of food processing equipment. Based on equipment and standards, they found that this technology has huge application scenarios in the domestic industrial market.

At present, the research group is accelerating the application and transformation of its achievements, actively applying gas catalytic infrared technology in seven fields including coating drying, leather drying, and core material curing food drying. It has cooperated with 20 enterprises such as CIMC and CNOOC to build 184 sets of catalytic infrared production lines and equipment, generating significant economic and social benefits.

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The key to preventing oxidative browning during the process of processing apples into crisps is the processing technology. Recently, Ma Haile's research group has applied the catalytic infrared equipment developed to the apple slice production of Shenying Fruit Cooperative in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province. The commonly used method is to use chemical color protectants to passivate the enzymes involved in oxidative browning. Our equipment not only replaces the use of chemical reagents, but also partially dries them, "said Ma Haile. Dry passivation enzyme color protectants fundamentally solve the problems of serious water pollution and poor food safety in chemical color protectants, significantly reducing the energy consumption of pressure differential flash evaporation and puffing drying of apple slices.

With the advancement of technology, gas catalytic infrared heating technology is also applied in multiple fields, greatly improving the energy-saving efficiency of these industries. After testing, in the field of paint drying, compared with electric infrared drying technology, this technology can save 50% of energy consumption; Applied to the heating of gas tree pressure reducing valves at gas field wellheads, energy consumption is reduced by 90% compared to using diesel engines for electric heating; In the field of leather processing, leather catalytic infrared curing can be achieved, which reduces equipment footprint by 50% and gas consumption by 61.3% compared to traditional methods.

There are over 5000 leather factories in China, mostly heavy polluting and high-energy consuming enterprises. In the field of food processing, thermal processing is currently the main method of food processing. If the energy consumption problem cannot be solved, the cost cannot be reduced. These are all potential application scenarios for catalytic infrared technology, "said Ma Haile.