Catalytic combustor

Abstract

The present invention provides a small-sized and lightweight catalytic combustor which can operate stably against variations of members to be heated. The catalytic combustor includes a heat-conductive separator for defining a combustion chamber and conducting heat to a member to be heated, the separator has projections and depressions in at least one part of a surface facing the combustion chamber, and an oxidation catalyst is supported on at least one part of the projections and depressions of the heat-conductive separator. By providing the projections and depressions in the surface of the heat-conductive separator, which faces the combustion chamber, a flow of a mixture of combustible materials and combustion-assisting materials can partly stay around the projections and depressions to enable a stable combustion thereof even at various flow rates.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A catalytic combustor comprising: 
 a heat-conductive separator for defining a combustion chamber and conducting heat to a member to be heated, at least one part of a surface of said heat-conductive separator, which faces said combustion chamber, having projections and depressions; and    an oxidation catalyst which is supported on at least one part of said projections and depressions of said heat-conductive separator.    
     
     
         2 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said projections and depressions have configurations which generate swirls in a flow of fluid within said combustion chamber.  
     
     
         3 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the height from projecting ends of said projections to bottoms of said depressions ranges from 0.4 to 1.0 mm.  
     
     
         4 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the number of sets of one of said projections and one of said depressions per unit length of said surface of said heat-conductive separator ranges from 0.5 to 10/cm.  
     
     
         5 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , further comprising a wall which is arranged so as to face said heat-conductive separator at a predetermined distance therefrom for defining said combustion chamber, said wall having a supply port for supplying at least one of a combustible material and a combustion-assisting material for burning said combustible material, to said combustion chamber.  
     
     
         6 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said supply port supplies said combustible material, and said combustion-assisting material is supplied via an end of a space defined by said surface of said heat-conductive separator, which has said projections and said depressions, and said wall which faces said heat-conductive separator.  
     
     
         7 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein said supply port is composed of a plurality of supply ports which are arranged in multiple stages toward a downstream side of said combustion chamber.  
     
     
         8 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein at least one part of a surface of said heat-conductive separator, which defines said member to be heated, has said projections and said depressions.  
     
     
         9 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein said member to be heated is a heating chamber for reforming organic compounds to gas which contains hydrogen.  
     
     
         10 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 5 , wherein at least one of said combustible material and said combustion-assisting material, which is supplied from said supply port, is injected toward said heat-conductive separator.  
     
     
         11 . A catalytic combustor as claimed in  claim 10 , wherein said supply port supplies said combustible material, and said combustion-assisting material is supplied via an end of a space defined by said surface of said heat-conductive separator, which has said projections and said depressions, and said wall which faces said heat-conductive separator.