More Heat – Less Pollution: EnviCat® LongLife Catalysts for Wood Stoves

20 – 50% More Heat

Between 5% and 30% of the energy content of wood escapes up the chimney as smoke. At Süd-Chemie we've been studying the problem of wood heating efficiency for a number of years. Non-Catalytic Wood stoves burning at low or medium level typically send smoke up the chimney, as the secondary combustion chamber is simply not hot enough to burn the smoke. In a catalytic stove, when the smoke passes through a Süd-Chemie catalytic combustor, the incineration temperature of the smoke is reduced dramatically. Thus the energy stored in the smoke is incinerated, even at low temperatures, creating and releasing more heat via radiant-heat transfer.

Less Pollution

Gases and particles in smoke contribute to air pollution.

The combustor eliminates 90% of wood stove pollution by burning these gases and particles before they exit the stove. Süd-Chemie brings thirty years of research and development experience in the field of emissions control to catalytic combustors for your wood stove.

Less Creosote

Our studies have resulted in a product that extracts more heat from burning wood while reducing creosote buildup. Condensation of smoke in chimneys and flues creates creosote, the primary cause of chimney fires. The combustor reduces this danger because it burns most of the smoke and reduces creosote accumulation as much as 90%. However, you should continue to inspect your chimney regularly for safety!

Süd-Chemie EnviCat® LongLife Plus Combustors provide economical and environmental solutions for the burning of wood as a source of heat. These catalytic combustors offer many of the unique properties that have made Süd-Chemie catalysts the premier choice for catalytic converter systems for more than two decades. Süd-Chemie has developed the optimum chemistry to formulate a catalyst that yields the lowest emissions and longest life of any catalyst in the world. Süd-Chemie's catalytic combustors are available in a variety of designs for wood burning stoves. When it comes to designing a new catalytic wood stove our engineers can work with you to develop the optimum shape and size for your stove.

High Combustion Efficiency at Low – Mid Burn Rates

In the controlled-combustion (or airtight) stove, control of heat output is gained at the expense of combustion efficiency, especially during low burn rates. Low burn rate is a relative value. For this discussion, low burn rate means rates that result in excessive smoke and poor combustion efficiencies (50% to 70%). To overcome this problem, draft regulators, secondary combustion chambers, and baffling have been used to improve combustion efficiencies. But these methods typically fall short during medium and low burn rates because of difficulty in maintaining temperature and air/fuel ratio.

Higher Heat-Transfer Efficiencies

The catalytic combustor allows higher heat-transfer efficiency at low burn rates. This is possible for two reasons. First, a useful by-product of catalytic oxidation is heat. Elevated exhaust-gas temperatures will enhance the amount of heat transferred by an appliance to the surroundings. Second, the combustor is the most effective at low burn rates. When low flow conditions exist, there is more time for the transfer of heat from hot exhaust gases through the stove.

EnviCat® LongLife-Series

There are three types of catalyst carriers offered for woodburning applications. Ceramic (cordierite and mullite), widely accepted as the ceramics of choice, and metal (stainless steel). However, they do not all perform the same in every wood-stove and appliance application.

Süd-Chemie offers these options and can advise as to what will be the best for your application.

Brochure: EnviCat®-Catalysts for Wood Stoves (pdf)

Further Information on Hearth-Products can be found here.

Questions? Please contact us!