Patent ID: 8621869

Claim:
A method for heating an oxidation reaction chamber, the method comprising: receiving an air/fuel mixture in a first inlet and a second inlet of an oxidation reaction chamber, a concentration of the fuel in the received air/fuel mixture being below a lower explosive limit of the fuel, the air/fuel mixture being received in the oxidation reaction chamber while a temperature of a first region in the oxidation reaction chamber is below an oxidation temperature sufficient to oxidize the fuel of the received air/fuel mixture from the first inlet; raising the temperature of the first region to at least the oxidation temperature sufficient to oxidize the fuel of the received air/fuel mixture, the temperature being raised primarily using a portion of the heat energy released from oxidizing the air/fuel mixture in a second, different region in the reaction chamber using a heater to heat the second region of the reaction chamber to at least the oxidation temperature; and generating the heat energy by oxidizing the air/fuel mixture in the second region.