Patent ID: 7025940

Claim:
A process heater for endothermic chemical reactions comprising: an oxidation chamber, the oxidation chamber having an inlet for an oxidant, an outlet for combustion products, and a flow path between the inlet and the outlet; a fuel conduit for transporting a fuel to the oxidation chamber, the fuel conduit containing a plurality of fuel nozzles along substantially the entire length of the oxidation chamber, each nozzle providing fluid communication from within the fuel conduit to the oxidation chamber, the fuel nozzles being spaced so that the fuel is added to the oxidation chamber at a rate that no flame results when the fuel is mixed with the oxidant flowing through the flow path in the oxidation chamber thereby producing flameless, distributed combustion throughout said oxidation chamber; a preheater in fluid communication with the oxidation chamber inlet, the preheater capable of preheating said oxidant to a temperature at which when said oxidant and the fuel are mixed in said oxidation chamber, the temperature of said mixture of oxidant and fuel exceeds the autoignition temperature of said mixture; and a process chamber in a heat exchange relationship with the oxidation chamber whereby a controllable heat flux is provided to the process chamber at a sufficiently high rate to complete the endothermic chemical process being conducted therein, and the heat transferred from the oxidation chamber to the process chamber does not cause the temperature of the mixture of the oxidant and the fuel within the oxidation chamber to decrease below the autoignition temperature of said mixture of the oxidant and the fuel in the oxidation chamber.