Patent ID: 8820312

Claim:
An oxygen transport reactor-based oven, comprising: an upper furnace chamber defining an open interior region; a plurality of oxygen transport reactors disposed within the open interior region of the upper furnace chamber, each of the oxygen transport reactors having an ion transport membrane for unidirectional passage of oxygen through the membrane; means for delivering a mixture of fuel and gaseous carbon dioxide to an interior of each of the oxygen transport reactors; means for delivering pressurized air to the open interior region of the upper furnace chamber, whereby oxygen from the pressurized air is driven through the ion transport membrane of each of the oxygen transport reactors to combust with the fuel within the interior thereof, the combustion generating heat; a heating chamber for receiving articles to be heated; a radiator plate formed from a thermally conductive material separating a lower portion of the upper furnace chamber from an upper portion of the heating chamber, whereby the heat generated by the combustion heats the radiator plate, the heated radiator plate heating the articles within the heating chamber; a lower chamber positioned beneath the heating chamber; a continuous drive belt configured in a loop having an upper portion passing through the heating chamber for carrying the articles to be heated, and a lower portion passing through the lower chamber; means for removing gaseous nitrogen from the upper furnace chamber, the gaseous nitrogen being heated by the combustion; and means for delivering the gaseous nitrogen removed from the upper furnace chamber to the lower chamber for heating the lower portion of the continuous drive belt.