Flameless heating system инструкция на русском

Опять рассказ про вещь, большинству читателей совершенно ненужную. Тем не менее, кому-то может быть интересно, а работает ли она? А может кому и понадобится — в кулацком хозяйстве и пулемет сгодится. А если пулемет есть, но уже изрядно заржавел — то эта штука точно нужная вещь.
Не будем говорить страшных слов типа токи Фуко, скин-эффект, точка Кюри и так далее.
С этим и так все давно ясно — ротор поля наподобие дивергенции градуирует себя вдоль спина и там, внутре… ©
Мы вообще-то всего лишь ржавые гайки собрались откручивать, а не повторять школьную физику.
Но заодно все-таки посмотрим, что там внутрях.

Нагреватель покупался на рекламной распродаже. Цена при доставке из Чехии была очень привлекательна — $214.99 с бесплатной доставкой. Ниже цен я не нашел нигде.
По какой-то причине он же с доставкой из Китая стоил $268.99 плюс доставка $15.44, в Россию доставка была бесплатная, но цена — те же $268.99.
На этом чудеса с ценами не кончались — при попытке применить подарочный купон на 5 долларов, базовая цена для товара из Чехии увеличивалась с $214.99 до $234.59 и делала применение этого купона по меньшей мере бессмысленной — зачем тратить купон и в итоге платить больше? Использование других купонов было или запрещено для распродажи или приводило к повышению базовой цены. Чудны дела твои, Господи!
Тем не менее кроилово сработало — но об этом в конце.

И хватит о ценовых чудесах, поговорим все-таки о самом товаре.

Параметры, указанные продавцом

Входное напряжение: AC220/110V 50/60HZ — так полагаю, что зависит от выбранной модели
Выходная мощность： 1000 W
Потребляемый ток: 4.5/9.0 A — тоже в зависимости от модели, меньше напряжение — больше ток
Время для разогрева до 800 ºC: 5-40 секунд в зависимости от размера болванки — как-то не конкретно, вдруг моя гаечка тонну весит?
Напряжение/ток выходной катушки: 18V/50A — произведение чуток не дотягивает до заявленной мощности

Предназначение нагревателя — помочь в откручивании приржавевших гаек. К сожалению, тщательно приржавевшей гайки под рукой не оказалось. Машину, где их было в избытке, поменял совсем недавно. А такой нагреватель бы очень пригодился, когда я откручивал гайки от выхлопного коллектора — никакие WD-40 и отстукивания не помогли, в итоге я обломил пару болтов.
С нагревателем можно залезть в труднодоступное место, куда газовой горелкой не залезешь. Кроме того, он больше нагревает гайку, чем болт, на который эта гайка накручена — ржавчина разрушается более эффективно. Есть шанс не сжечь сайлентблок, если откручивается именно он.
С помощью плоских катушек можно прогреть листовой металл и оторвать от него разные наклейки или приклеенные пластиковые накладки.

Продаются такие нагреватели в разных местах и по разным ценам довольно-таки давно, но если цены на простейшие сварочные инверторы уже достигают уровня плинтуса, то на такие нагреватели, которые близки к ним по схемотехнике и ценам на комплектующие (а на самом деле он гораздо проще и комплектующих гораздо меньше), по какой-то причине цены опускаться не спешат.

Продаются значительно дешевле конструкторы — индукционные нагреватели, но готовым инструментом их не назовешь. Во-первых для их питания, как правило, требуется внешний источник питания 12…48 Вольт, для мощности 1-2 киловатта он дешевым и маленьким не будет. Работа такого нагревателя сильно зависит от рабочей катушки, так как она является частью резонансного контура и к чему приведет изменение конструкции — не очевидно. Но и просто подлезть к заржавевшей гайке с такой конструкцией будет затруднительно.

Кто-то переделывает дешевые сварочные инверторы в индукционные нагреватели — но удобнее они не становятся. Опять таки при переделке есть риск убить инвертор и не получить ничего.

Если кто решил с помощью этой штуки плавить металл и заниматься литьем — приготовьтесь обломиться, в описании этого нет, но у аналогичных устройств обычно предполагается 2 минуты непрерывной работы максимум, потом перерыв на 5 минут. У устройств, предназначенных для плавления, катушку делают из медной трубки, через которую пропускают охлаждающую жидкость. Насос предполагается всасывающий — если трубка вдруг прогорит, чтобы еще и потоп в придачу не устроить.

Этот нагреватель по принципу работы до боли напоминает конструкцию, которую в школьные годы в середине 70-х делали в доме пионеров — там был круг-катушка диаметром метра 2 из железнодорожного контактного провода, подключенный к генератору на каких-то мощных лампах. И по этому кругу бегала машинка, двигатель которой питался индукционным током.

Ладно, все это присказки. Посылка, наконец, пришла — смотрим, что мы имеем. Явно не то, что изображено на странице товара.

Лучше или хуже — спорный вопрос, но не то. Упаковка другая — мне кажется, удобнее. Инструкция прилагается — до покупки пытался найти — бесполезно. Поэтому отсканировал ее, желающие могут скачать. Насчет пользы от нее — этого я никому не обещал. Похоже, инструкция копировалась с американского аналогичного устройства mini-ductor, но редактор автоматически переправил его на mini-doctor, лишив предложение всякого смысла. Язык инструкции больше похож на американский юридический, чем на китайский английский. Что менее понятно — это вопрос.

Все 10 катушек нагревателя готовые, обещанных двух заготовок нет. Но зато нет и плоских катушек — а они вполне могут понадобится, придется готовую переделывать или новую делать. Катушки согнуты из 3 мм меди — для сомневающихся попытался сфотографировать срез — выглядит как медь.

Сам нагревать на фотографии выглядит маленьким, на деле — достаточно большая бандура, если с прикрученной катушкой, то полметра будет. И весит почти 1.3 кг.

— Это моряк, одежда у него была морская.
— Конечно, моряк. Полагаю, ты не надеялся найти здесь епископа?

Для начала подключаем осциллограф. Видим высокочастотный сигнал около 35кГц с максимальной амплитудой до 36 Вольт, модулированный сетевым напряжением. То есть, никакого сглаживания после выпрямления сетевого напряжения не предусмотрено. В общем, не особо и надо — мощность не очень большая, форма тока при обычном нагреве шерифа не волнует. Зато не нужен достаточно большой по размерам и не самый дешевый электролитический конденсатор — профит для производителя. При наличии металла внутри катушки частота заметно не изменяется — я этого не ожидал, все-таки индуктивность вторичной катушки изменяется, должна поменяться и резонансная частота. Но с обещанной амплитудой выходного сигнала 18 Вольт натемнили — или это средняя температура по больнице?

Смотрим потребление тока — при включении в сеть начинает визжать вентилятор, потребление 5 Ватт. Нажимаем красную кнопочку — внутри катушки ничего нет, на холостом ходу потребление довольно стабильное 220 Ватт. Пробуем греть гайку М10, накрученную на болт — в зависимости от взаиморасположения катушки и металла потребление 420-500 Ватт.

Возьмем более близкую по размеру катушку и попытаемся нагреть ту же гайку (для адептов здорового образа жизни — цинк я предварительно стравил лимонной кислотой, дабы не дышать парами) — мощность достигает 800 ватт. При нагреве трубки диаметром 10 мм — мощность 900-950 ватт.

Температуру примерно можно прикинуть по картинке снизу — мне кажется, температура в районе 850-900 градусов, инфракрасная камера при таких температурах уже не работает.

Попытался разогреть алюминиевую трубку такого же размера, как стальную — потребляемая мощность всего 350 ватт и разогреть до плавления даже близко не удалось. Значит, не врут — для индукционного нагрева алюминия частота должна быть выше 100 кГц.

Еще не обратил ваше внимание на желтую наклейку с кучей надписей. Общий смысл такой: всем бояться, близко не подходить и ни в коем случае не разбирать — чем мы сейчас и займемся.

Написано же было — не разбирать. И правильно написано, все надежно приклеено к корпусу толстым слоем клея, снять можно только верхнюю половинку. Конструкция практически неремонтопригодна.

Вам сердечник этого трансформатора ничего не напоминает?

Вылитый строчник — видимо, где-то остались неиспользованные запасы.
Провод катушки нагревателя неплохо греется, поэтому радиатор между выводами трансформатора и клеммами катушки лишним точно не будет.

Для питания вентилятора и для дежурного питания используется до боли знакомый модуль, который тут обзирали не один раз.

Судя по примененной микросхеме MC33151 силовая часть идентична mini-ductor, схему где-то нашел в интернете, можете глянуть ниже.
Подключение катушек — только идея, без конкретики и конденсаторов:

В качестве радиатора транзисторов применена алюминиевая полоска, к ней прикреплен медный экран, под которым скрывается катушка индуктивности.

Краткое резюме по увиденному внутри — все очень просто, комплектующих минимум и они недорогие, теоретически себестоимость этого нагревателя гораздо ниже, чем любого самого простого сварочного инвертора, которые сейчас продают за 40-50 долларов. Тем не менее, такие нагреватели так дешево не продают.

Внутренности, представленные на фотографии аналогичного нагревателя у какого-то продавца на Али, имеют мало общего с купленным устройством. Скорее всего, на фотографии какая-то версия mini-ductor.

Но у оригинального устройства предусмотрен входной фильтр, ограничивающие ток резисторы и предохранитель — это плюс оригинального. И в оригинальном устройстве нет преобразователя напряжения для питания вентилятора, для этого используется схемка на тиристоре — хоть и не принципиально, но, скорее, минус.

Конечно, я халяву очень люблю и уважаю, но просить на обзор задаром хорошую и не очень дешевую вещь пролетарская совесть не позволяет. Но грешен, тот купон, которым я воспользовался при покупке, сэкономив 25 долларов, предоставлен Banggood.
Banggood так же предоставил купон для читателей этого обзора:
BG0514d0 $260.99(CN warehouse)/204.99(CZ warehouse) действителен до 31.10.2021
Понятно, он выгоден для тех, кто имеет возможность заказать с чешского склада, но что уж дали

Мнение кошачьих экспертов.

Шо, опять? Да у вас, батенька, опять приступ графомании на фоне шопоголизма. Тебя в поликлинику сдать надо, на опыты. Учился бы у классиков, в конце-то концов. Вот например:

Белеет парус одинокой
В тумане моря голубом!..
Что ищет он в стране далекой?
Что кинул он в краю родном?..

Хотя постой, совет плохой. Будет слишком много вопросов — где парус покупался? Сколько стоит? Доставка бесплатная? Упакован как?
Как он может белеть в тумане — там же ничего не видно? И что все-таки голубое — туман или море? Если туман — где ты видел голубой туман? Бред какой-то.
Но тем не менее — коробка годная, пусть полежит, мы немного отдохнем в ней от трудов праведных. А эту свою фигню унеси в гараж и не приставай.

Описание Товара

An FRH, or Flameless Ration Heater is a self-contained, exothermic chemical heater that is water activated and used to heat ready-made food. It is usually included with MREs (ready-to-eat meals) and specifications require the heater to raise the temperature of 8 ounces or 226.8-gram entrée by 56 °C or 100 °F in about twelve minutes with no visible flame. It can be used to heat food in pouches or tins and can take two single meals at the same time. It is compact, lightweight, easy to transport, and the chemical pad composed of magnesium, iron, and salt is easily disposable.

How Does a Flameless Ration Heater Work?

The heater generates heat via an electron-transfer process that is known as an oxidation-reduction reaction. Magnesium in a fine powder form is alloyed with a small amount of table salt and iron that causes a reaction when a small amount of water is added. As the reaction proceeds the water quickly reaches a boiling point in the heater, heating the food that it comes into contact with.

Magnesium metal is oxidized by water according to a chemical reaction which is analogous to iron-oxygen causing iron to rust. This process proceeds at a very slow rate that cannot generate any usable heat. When metallic iron particles and table salt is mixed with magnesium particles, it accelerates the reaction. Iron and magnesium elements, when suspended in an electrolyte (salt water), form a galvanic cell, just like a battery, that is capable of generating electricity. When the salt in a Flameless Ration Heater is dissolved by water, it forms an electrolyte that turns each magnesium and iron particle into a tiny battery. When these iron and magnesium particles come into contact with each other, thousands of tiny short-circuit batteries are formed which quickly burn out, generating heat. This process of heat production, called ‘Supercorroding Galvanic Cells’ by the patent holders of the product, is what makes these heaters to effective.

Benefits and Features

These heating units will make ready to eat meals piping hot in minutes. No cooking is required as the temperature of the food is brought to at least 100° F without flame which makes them particularly useful where fires are prohibited or where it could be dangerous – for example for children who are on a camping trip. They are useful to keep in storage in case of a natural disaster or when prolonged power outages occur. The U.S. Military and NASA make use of Flameless Ration Heaters for MREs as it provides a simple method for quickly providing meals with no risk of fire or explosion.

How to Use MRE Flameless Ration Heaters

Simply tear off the top of the heating bag, place the MRE entrée or a water tight container of food into the bag. Follow the instruction and pour a small amount (a couple of tablespoons) of water in to the bag until it reaches the water-line near the bottom of the bag. Hold for a little while to allow the chemicals to be dissolved, then close the bag by folding over the top. Prop the bag up against something sturdy like a rock on a slight incline and wait for 10 – 15 minutes. The food will be piping hot and ready to eat.

FRHs are useful to keep in the car alongside bottled water and an emergency ration pack. They can come in handy in the case of a vehicle break-down in a remote area, or when sever weather situations cause you to get stranded. If you are a serious camper, hiker or traveler, this is a must-have item. It requires a tiny amount of water which makes it easy to take on trips, and it takes up very little space.

Safety precautions

Be warned that the food can become very hot depending on the ingredients so be careful when handling it while removing from the heating bag. It can heat MREs or any tightly sealed home-cooked meals that contain moisture. Rice and pasta recipes with sauce work particularly well as does tinned food or pouches.

To prevent a premature reaction from occurring while in transit or storage the heating bag must be carefully packed to protect it from tears or punctures. They must also be kept where there is no water or excessive moisture in the air. If the MRE Flameless Ration Heater is exposed to moist air, it may become coated with a thin layer of magnesium hydroxide that is insoluble and could interfere with the chemical reactions needed to generate heat.

Heating pads that become wet can release hydrogen gas which could cause a serious risk of fire or explosion as the magnesium becomes burning hot and ignites. It is vitally important to follow all instruction on the packaging and heed all warnings printed on the product.

CLAIM PRIORITY

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. NO. 60/745,874, filed Apr. 28, 2006, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to flameless heating systems and, more specifically, to a heating system including solid state titanium boride and hydrogen peroxide.

2. Description of the Related Art

New technological solutions to provide safe, convenient, lightweight, and efficient flameless heating technologies are in demand for a variety of applications, especially where safe, convenient and inexpensive heat sources are required at field and in remote locations. For example, several flameless heating technologies have been developed, such as the system employed by the Army to warm field rations require sufficiently for consumption in the field. Flameless heat sources are required to be lightweight, inexpensive, safe and conveniently operated and disposed of in the field, as well as being able to deliver sufficient heat for a significant time. Existing Army technologies are based upon magnesium and iron based chemical heating units that have been adapted for use in heating. Typically, 2.5% saline solutions (˜350 g) are used to activate the Mg-Fe chemical system (˜130 g) that provides sufficient heat to raise the temperature of the ration to 140° F. over 40 minutes. This system has the advantages of a self-regulating unit that delivers a high heat density with a relatively high energy to weight ratio. There are, however, significant problems associated with the use of these types of heating systems. Most important among these problems with the Mg-Fe systems are regulatory restrictions arising from the flammability, transportation, storage and disposal of the components. Additionally, the premature activation of the heater from inadvertent contact with the activator solution or the food itself is problematic. Other flameless heating technologies also have significant limitations regarding cost, stability, self-regulation and disposal of the units after use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a principal object and advantage of the present invention to provide an inexpensive heating system.

It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a uniformly distributed heating system.

It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide a non-toxic heating system.

It is an additional object and advantage of the present invention to provide a non-flammable heating system.

It is another object and advantage of the present invention to provide a lightweight heating system.

It is a further object and advantage of the present invention to provide an easy to use heating system.

It is an additional object and advantage of the present invention to provide an environmentally friendly heating system.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will in part be obvious, and in part appear hereinafter.

In accordance with the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention provides flameless heating technologies based upon the use of the readily controlled exothermic reaction of hydrogen peroxide solutions catalyzed by solid state titanium boride materials. This new system is inexpensive and can be easily regulated to provide significant amounts of heat that may be uniformly distributed through the formation of an inert gel (ΔH=1493 kJ/mol). The titanium boride-peroxide systems, therefore, form the core components of a new heater system that is inexpensive, safe to operate, portable, lightweight, easy to use, and easily disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner. In addition, these systems can be designed to provide continuous heat over an extended period. This new system is based upon the catalytic reaction chemistry of solid state titanium boride materials with hydrogen peroxide solutions to form a readily regulated heat supply. This new flameless heating system will be very inexpensive, provide for safe use, storage and disposal, along with other desirable operational features.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a micrograph of thin film titanium boride coating prepared according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is scanning electron micrograph of boride particles formed by aerosol methods according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a graph of the heating profile of heating a hydrogen peroxide and titanium boride solution according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is another graph of the heating profile of heating a hydrogen peroxide and titanium boride solution according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a further graph of the heating profile of heating a hydrogen peroxide and titanium boride solution according to the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, the basis for the present invention is the catalytic action of solid state titanium boride materials upon solutions of hydrogen peroxide. A small amount of solid titanium boride (as a tablet, powder, or thin film) added to an aqueous peroxide solution will release significant, self-regulated, amounts of heat to the surroundings. In addition, under specific conditions, a gel can be formed in the reaction mixture.

The fundamental exothermic energy production arises primarily from the catalytic action of titanium boride upon peroxide solutions. The overall chemical process is given by:

H₂O₂(aq) ——>H₂O+0.5 O₂ (incorporated into TiB₂ gel) ΔH=1380 Btu/lb

This exothermic decomposition is, however, not a spontaneous process and requires the presence of a catalyst in order to proceed.

A few catalysts for this process are known, most notably platinum metal. The present invention, however, involves the use of a titanium boride, which is a remarkably efficient catalyst for the process of the present invention. In connection with the present invention, the catalyst is provided by adding a small amount of titanium boride solid as a pellet, powder, or thin film coating on a substrate to the solution. Under some conditions, a gel may be formed in the reaction mixture. The gel is presumably a cross-linked titanium-boride-oxide material that is both thermally self-regulating and highly exothermic (ΔH=1493 kJ/mol based upon titanium boride). In cases where a gel is formed, the formation of the gel helps control the gas evolution and the O₂ remains within the gel matrix. The gel also evenly distributes the heat throughout the sample and over time, leading to an efficient heating system.

The use of titanium boride solids with peroxide solutions in the operation of the proposed flameless heating unit provides significant advantages. Some of the advantages derive directly from the reagents themselves. Titanium boride is a solid state material belonging to the class of materials know as the metal borides. The metal borides as a group typically exhibit enormous thermal and oxidative stability and are resistant to attack in even the harshest chemical environments, such as dilute acids, bases, molten salts, and even concentrated mineral acids. Many borides are even resistant to molten metals. For example, TiB₂ is completely resistant to acids, bases, and molten metals such as Al, Cu, Mg Sn, Bi, Zn and Pb. These compounds often can be heated in air to 1200° to 1400° C. without significant oxidation.

The chemical properties, and especially the safety features, of titanium diboride are particularly useful in connection with the flameless heating system of the present invention. Titanium diboride [CAS Number 12045-63-5] is a gray, odorless, non-flammable solid that has no self-reacting properties. Importantly, it is not considered a toxic hazard and there is no reported evidence of carcinogenicity or exposure risk. It may be disposed of as a simple solid waste and is not a compound regulated by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA), also known as the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act. Titanium metal itself is also generally considered to be physiologically inert. There are no reported cases in the literature where either titanium metal or titanium diboride has caused human intoxication and no chronic health effects have been recorded. Titanium diboride is used extensively in commercial applications such as cutting surfaces, conductive ceramics, and as physical and corrosion protection materials.

Titanium boride is currently inexpensive (ca. <$0.40 per gram) and is readily available either from a variety of commercial sources in bulk or readily synthesized by a carbothermal method. Since the titanium boride employed in the present invention requires only small catalytic quantities, the cost of reagents per heating unit is very low. The present invention also encompasses methods for forming titanium boride materials as powders, pellets, or as thin film coatings, even on thermally sensitive substrates such as plastics. The thin film coating variety may be particularly important in the inexpensive fabrication of readily reusable heating units.

In formulating the titanium boride catalyst, metal boride materials can be readily synthesized by bulk carbothermal, CVD, aerosol, and spray pyrolytic methods. Carbothermal methods are very straightforward and have been known for decades for forming high purity bulk ceramic and powdered materials. Highly crystalline pure titanium boride thin film coatings may be readily prepared using CVD, aerosol, and spray pyrolytic methods, as seen in FIG. 1. More specifically, FIG. 1 details aerosol deposited film formed from TiC14 and decaborane(14) in acetonitrile at 900° C.

Referring to FIG. 2, the boride formed by aerosol methods, as seen in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contains uniform, well-formed spherical products. Boride formed by aerosol methods results in spheres having very clear boundaries, with an average size of 1.02 μm with a standard deviation of 0.16 μm. Using pyrolytic methods for forming boride-containing coatings on substrates, including thermally sensitive substrates (plastics, Teflon, kapton, glass, etc.), offers an economically and experimentally viable pathway to provide coatings with the unparalleled chemical and physical properties of the boride materials required for the proposed heating technology.

The other major component of our the present invention is a hydrogen peroxide solution. A 3% — 10% aqueous hydrogen peroxide solution is a very safe, convenient and inexpensive material to use. These solutions are colorless, odorless, and non-flammable with no significant health hazards under normal conditions of use. No adverse effects are to be expected from skin contact, ingestion (except in very large oral doses), or through inhalation (direct eye and open wound contact, however, should be avoided and may result in irritation). In fact, these solutions are often used in the household as mouthwashes, germicides, food preservatives, laundry additives, and bath additives, among many other uses. These solutions are stable for long term storage and may be easily used and disposed, typically by flushing down the drain. They are also very inexpensive (ca. <$ 1 per liter) and are readily obtained in very large quantities commercially. Additionally, higher concentration solutions are also readily available and may be diluted prior to use, thereby reducing the weight load of the heating units even further, if desirable.

Together, the chemical properties of the two-reagent system of solid titanium boride and dilute aqueous hydrogen peroxide form a convenient, inexpensive and efficient chemical system for application to flameless heating according to the present invention.

While titanium boride is insoluble and unreactive in essentially all common solvents, it will surprisingly dissolve in aqueous solutions of hydrogen peroxide. This process occurs with the liberation of a significant amount of heat. For example, the addition of 0.02 mol of TiB₂ to 100 mL of dilute 4% aqueous hydrogen peroxide liberates 1493 kJ/mole. Stated another way, 1.4 g of TiB₂ added to 100 mL of 4% aqueous hydrogen peroxide will heat the solution to 87° C. (188° F.) and form a gel. Decreasing the peroxide concentration to 3% liberates 1226 kJ/mol or heated the 100 mL of solution to 81° C. (178° F.) in 10 minutes. Upon addition of the titanium boride catalyst to the solution a soft gel rapidly forms. This is particularly important because this gel provides a uniform and controlled release of the heat to anything in contact with the gel. Evaporation of the solvent provides the starting titanium boride material back in a smaller amount than used initially, mixed with some boric acid and a small amount of uncharacterized amorphous material.

The ultimate temperature that the system achieves depends upon the amount of TiB₂ employed. For example, by employing 100 mL of a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution, the relationship between the amount of titanium boride used and temperature parameters as a function of time can be seen in FIG. 3, which depicts the heating profiles for 500 mL of a 5% hydrogen peroxide solution as a function of titanium boride concentration (no stirring). By varying amounts of titanium boride the heating profile can be tailored to the intended use of the flameless heating system for specific circumstances.

The reaction can also be controlled by varying the concentration of the starting peroxide solution. This can be advantageous as lower heating temperatures and slower times may be needed for some applications. The curves and temperatures for these experiments are seen in FIG. 4, which shows the heating profiles for 500 mL of a solution with 0.2 M titanium boride as a function of hydrogen peroxide concentration (no stirring). The fundamental chemistry of this reaction system appears to involve titanium boride catalytically decomposing the hydrogen peroxide into water and oxygen (equation shown above).

In cases where no gel is formed, the O₂ is liberated by bubbling from the reaction solution. This can be conveniently released by simple venting, using a Gortex check valve, or by a similar gas-venting arrangement. In the cases where a gel is formed, however, most of the oxygen seems to be trapped by the titanium boride in solution to crosslink the boride structural units to form the observed gel. This effectively prevents rapid outgassing of the oxygen. Thus, the only products of the reaction are the formation of water and O₂.

While the present invention does not evolve heat when used with other simple metal catalyst systems, the catalytic system of the present invention works well in non-aqueous solvents, such as ethylene glycol. Titanium boride may be recovered by evaporation of the reaction solution, and the addition of fresh hydrogen peroxide solution yields the heat as obtained initially with a slight loss of maximum temperature achieved at a slightly slower rate. Thus, the titanium boride may be reused to some extent.

A rechargeable unit may be achieved by simply removing the exhausted peroxide solution and recharging the unit with a fresh solution (the exhausted peroxide does not necessarily need to be removed.) Alternatively, designing a system in which periodically additional quantities of peroxide are added can maintain the heating advantage for longer periods of time. FIG. 5 depicts a heating curve in which several aliquots of peroxide are added at varying times. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows the heating profiles for 500 mL of a 5% hydrogen peroxide solution with 0.2 M titanium boride (no stirring). At three locations, seen by the dips in the profile after the initial maximum was achieved, additional aliquots of 30% peroxide were added (10 mL, 20 mL and 20 mL, as viewed from left to right in FIG. 5). Upon each addition, the temperature of the system increases, thereby extending the heating usefulness of the system as long as reasonably desired.

The gel obtained from a reaction according to the present invention is rather viscous, although it conforms well to a molded shape such as a UGR tray, and is easily contained. Since any residual peroxide and titanium boride are non-toxic, disposal is not a significant problem.

This flameless heating system of the present invention is useful for a variety of application, including but not limited to: (1) heating or maintaining the temperature of food services (e.g., catering); (2) heating cold meals, beverages, soups, etc. in the field; (3) heating medical compresses, sterilizing devices, and body warmers, (4) survival blankets, and (5) cleaning products, among many other possible applications. The flameless heating unit of the present invention thus provide a number of significant potential advantages as flameless heating units, including: the use of safe, inexpensive, and readily stored reagents (titanium boride and peroxide solutions); the formation of only water and trapped O₂ as reaction by-products; the formation of a gel that provides ready heat exchange and prevents mess in the operation and disposal of the unit; non-flammability at all stages of operation; the liberation of large amounts of energy; self-regulated heat generation; the possibility of re-useable units by employing titanium boride thin film coatings in the heating unit, and easy operation and disposal.

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UK-based Trekmates offers a unique way to cook in the outdoors. Its Flamless Cook System eliminates the need to carry a stove or fuel canister and cooks your meals without fire. As such, it doesn’t release any dangerous gas and can be used inside a tent.

The Trekmates system uses a chemical heating packet in place of a traditional fire. Place the packet in the plastic tray portion of the cooking flask or tin, and it begins heating when you add water. The food goes into the stainless steel bowl or cup, which fits atop the plastic heat tray. A lid locks the heat in. Within 7 to 10 minutes, you’ll have a hot meal or beverage. The most powerful Super Power Heatpack reaches its maximum temperature of 90° C (194° F) in 15 minutes, providing 15 minutes of cook time at that temperature before cooling down.

A main advantage of the Flameless Cook System is being able to cook inside your tent. Due to the risk of fire and poisonous gas, you can’t use the average camping stove inside the tent, meaning you have to cook outside even if it’s cold, rainy or windy. Of course, depending upon location, cooking in your tent may not be a wise idea anyway because of bears and other animals.

Magnesium-based flameless ration heaters, which are similar, if not identical, to the heat packet Trekmates uses in its system, have been used by the US military for decades and are also available to consumers. Though the Trekmates system with its sturdy containers is a bit better integrated than some of the older, more basic flameless systems, it’s not really the «revolution» that Trekmates claims.

It may not be as technologically-advanced as the Heatstick, but the Trekmates system is much cheaper. You can purchase a pack of five or seven heat packs for £10 (about US$15). Buyers can also select the 850-ml (30-fluid ounce) Cook Box for £30 ($45) or 360-ml (12.7-fluid ounce) Cook Flask for £20 ($30), both of which come with several heat packs.

Source: Trekmates via The GearCaster