BE1023919A1 - IMPROVED BIO-ETHANOL FIREPLACE - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) for igniting and burning up bioethanol (3) that contains at least the following elements: - a burner (9) provided with a burner bed (10); - a separate reservoir (11) for storing bioethanol (3); and - supply means (12) for supplying fuel (3) to the burner bed (10).

Description

Improved bioethanol fireplace.

The present invention relates to an improved bioethanol fireplace.

More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved bioethanol fireplace intended to ignite and burn out the bioethanol fuel.

Many types of bioethanol fireplaces of the aforementioned type are already known, but these can still be greatly improved.

With the known bio-ethanol fireplaces, the bio-ethanol is poured into a gutter or container.

After ignition, the bioethanol present is burned up.

A first major problem with the known bio-ethanol fireplaces is that topping up such a fire with fuel, in particular with bio-ethanol, entails relatively great dangers.

Bioethanol is a fuel that is rather volatile and therefore easily changes from the liquid phase to the gas phase when heated.

Gaseous bioethanol is also highly flammable.

For this reason, after the stove has been burning for some time, only bioethanol may be added to the stove at any time if the stove has cooled down sufficiently.

Otherwise, refilling the stove with bioethanol can lead to the formation of gaseous bioethanol that can easily ignite.

The latter, of course, entails a huge fire hazard, whereby not only materials in the vicinity of the fireplace can easily catch fire, but also the burning bio-ethanol can cause considerable burns to the person who is topping up the fireplace.

After all, during filling, the person filling the hearth usually holds a well-filled bottle or can with bioethanol, which in the event of ignition of the gaseous bioethanol formed can slip out of the hand due to a shock reaction and / or can quickly catch fire, causing a large amount of fuel to ignite.

All this can lead to catastrophic consequences in a minimum of time.

Another disadvantage of the known bioethanol fireplaces is therefore that a certain period of cooling must always be respected between burning up and refilling and re-lighting of the fireplace, which is far from being practical and as a result of which the effect of the heating is partly is lost during the waiting period.

Yet another drawback of the known bioethanol fireplaces is that there is always a relatively large amount of bioethanol present in the fireplace, which can also easily ignite for the aforementioned reasons, with the possible risk of fire.

Yet another disadvantage of the known bioethanol fireplaces is that in these known bioethanol fireplaces the combustion is supposedly "within its own wet" or "within its own barrel", which means that the combustion and the flame directly affects the entire volume of bioethanol present in the fireplace.

Such an arrangement again poses a very great danger, but there is also another disadvantage of this, namely that there is no complete combustion or an inefficient combustion, as a result of which an unpleasant odor is spread and the user often suffers from headache .

The present invention therefore has for its object to provide a solution to one or more of the aforementioned and / or other problems.

More specifically, the invention has for its object to provide an improved fireplace for burning bioethanol that is safer to use and in which better combustion is achieved.

To this end, the present invention relates to an improved bioethanol fireplace for igniting and burning up bioethanol, said fireplace comprising at least the following elements: - a burner which is provided with a burner bed; - a separate reservoir for storing bioethanol; and, - supply means for supplying fuel to the burner bed.

A first major advantage of such an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention is that the fireplace is provided with a burner with a burner bed over which the fuel is spread, in particular pure bioethanol or a fuel mixture consisting of such bioethanol mixed with air .

Thus, during the burning of fuel, the flame only comes into contact with a portion of the bioethanol present in the fireplace, which of course contributes to the safety of such a bioethanol fireplace according to the invention.

Another advantage of using a burner bed is that a much better combustion of the bioethanol can be achieved than with the known bioethanol fireplaces, since there is no combustion in one's own wet place.

Another major advantage of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention is that the fireplace is provided with supply means for supplying fuel to the burner bed.

These feed means allow the fuel to be metered onto the burner bed, the bioethanol preferably already being mixed with air in advance, so that optimum combustion is achieved.

In an improved bio-ethanol fireplace according to the invention, therefore, complete combustion of the fuel takes place, as a result of which the users do not experience any odor nuisance, which is the case with the known bio-ethanol fireplaces.

Another important advantage of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention is that the bioethanol is stored in a separate reservoir, which again greatly reduces the risk of fire hazard or at least greatly reduces its consequences compared to what is the case with the known bioethanol fireplaces.

In a preferred embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, the reservoir is provided with a feed for topping up the reservoir with bioethanol, wherein preferably this reservoir with bioethanol is arranged such that the reservoir can be safely operated. topped up while the fire is burning.

To this end, the supply is preferably provided at some distance from the burner bed in order to be able to fill the reservoir without danger during the burning of the fireplace.

A major advantage of these embodiments of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention is that the risk of fire is again greatly reduced, while the ease of use increases.

After all, it is no longer necessary to wait until the bioethanol fireplace has cooled down sufficiently before it can be topped up with fuel, which is the case with the known bioethanol fireplaces.

On the one hand this saves time, but on the other hand the heating effect of the fireplace should no longer be interrupted, so that the efficiency of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention when heating a room is much greater than with the known bio -ethanol fireplaces.

In a possible embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, the reservoir is provided as a compartment in the burner bed.

Such an embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention has the advantage that the fireplace can be made very compact, while the fireplace is still much safer than the known bioethanol fireplaces, because of the sealed nature of the storage of the fuel. .

In another possible embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, the reservoir is provided at a certain distance from the burner bed, for example at a distance of at least 10 cm, or for example at least 15 cm or at a distance of at least 20 cm or even more.

In these possible embodiments of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, the emphasis is on safety and ease of use when topping up the fireplace with fuel and less on its compactness.

In another embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, an intermediate solution can be chosen in which the reservoir is provided in the fireplace near the burner bed, but far enough away from it to be able to safely top up fuel while the fireplace is burning.

Another preferred aspect of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention consists in providing the fireplace with a pump and pipes with which bioethanol or fuel present in the burner bed can be pumped back to the reservoir.

Preferably with such an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention, the fireplace is provided with a control for automatically controlling the pump and with an electronic circuit for extinguishing the fireplace, the control being such that when the fireplace is extinguished with With the help of the electronic circuit excess bioethanol or fuel is automatically pumped back to the reservoir in the burner bed.

Such possible embodiments of an improved bio-ethanol fireplace according to the invention are equipped even more safely, since after the fireplace has been extinguished no or substantially no bio-ethanol or fuel is left on the burner bed, so that gaseous flammable vapors cannot be produced by the residual heat still present in the fireplace just extinguished, which is the case with the well-known bio-ethanol fireplaces.

With the insight to better demonstrate the characteristics of the invention, a few preferred embodiments of improved bioethanol fireplaces according to the invention are described below as examples without any limiting character, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which: figure 1 shows schematically the operation of a illustrates well-known bioethanol fireplace; Figure 2 schematically represents a first possible embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention; and, figures 3 and 4 schematically show two other embodiments of an improved bioethanol fireplace according to the invention.

The bioethanol fireplace 1 schematically shown in Figure 1 is a bioethanol fireplace 1, as is known in the art.

This known bioethanol fireplace 1 has a gutter, container or container that serves as storage space 2 in which a user must pour the bioethanol 3 to be burned.

This storage space 2 typically has a bottom 4 and side walls 5, but is furthermore open at the top 6.

In such a known bioethanol fireplace 1, the bioethanol 3 present in the storage space 2 is ignited, whereby a flame 7 is formed.

The burning of the bioethanol 3 takes place directly on the storage space 2, which is also described in the professional jargon as "burning in one's own wet" or "burning in its own barrel".

A major disadvantage of such a known configuration is the great risk of fire, for example due to spillage during topping up or due to self-ignition of gaseous bioethanol, as discussed in the introduction.

Moreover, the consequences of such a fire can be considerable because a large amount of bioethanol is in direct contact with the flame 7.

Yet another drawback of these known bioethanol fireplaces 1 is that with such "combustion in one's own wet" no complete combustion of the bioethanol takes place, at least from a chemical point of view.

With a complete combustion of ethanol, that is, with a sufficient supply of oxygen and heat, the ethanol decomposes into the harmless and odorless water and carbon dioxide.

If ethanol is not completely burned, all kinds of other by-products end up in the air which are harmful to health and can cause great odor nuisance.

In the case of "combustion in one's own wet", insufficient oxygen can be supplied to the seat of the fire to achieve a complete combustion, resulting in the disadvantages described.

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention.

This improved bioethanol fireplace 8 contains a burner 9 which is provided with a burner bed 10.

The bioethanol 3 is stored in a separate reservoir 11.

It is clear that the upper side 6 of the improved bioethanol in this case is of closed or substantially closed design with a clear separation between the majority of the bioethanol 3 present in the hearth and the actual flame 7 or hearth 7.

The improved bioethanol fireplace 8 is furthermore provided with supply means 12 for supplying the fuel 3, in this case pure bioethanol 3, to the burner bed 10.

These supply means 12 are shown schematically in the shown example of figure 2 as a conduit or passage 13 to the burner bed 10, but these supply means 12 can in reality be made much more complicated, as will be discussed in more detail with regard to figure 4.

Means can be provided for the correct mixing of the bioethanol 3 with air or oxygen and for the metered supply of the bioethanol 3 or the fuel mixture to the burner bed 10.

The improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention is suitable for burning both bioethanol 95 and bioethanol 98.

An advantage of this arrangement according to the invention is that the majority of the bioethanol 3 is stored separately in the reservoir 11 and is not in direct contact with the flame 7, so that the risk of lighting a fire outside the fireplace 8 is greatly reduced and certainly the size of any such fire is greatly reduced.

Another advantage of such an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention is that only a limited amount of fuel is present in the burner bed 10, which again greatly limits the possibility of forming a large fire outside the fireplace 8.

Yet another advantage of the improved bioethanol fireplace 8 is that the nature and amount of fuel supplied to the burner bed 10 can be adjusted with the supply means 12, so that a much better combustion, in particular a combustion that is complete from a chemical point of view, can be obtained , so that no harmful and odor-causing gases end up in the environment.

The reservoir 11 is provided with a closable supply 14 for refilling the reservoir 11 with bioethanol 3.

This feed 14 is preferably arranged in such a way that the reservoir 11 can be topped up without risk with bioethanol 3, and this while the fireplace 8 is burning.

In order to enable safe refueling of bioethanol 3 in the reservoir 11, the mouth 15 of the supply 14 can for instance be provided for this purpose at a sufficiently large distance from the burner bed 10.

According to the invention, the improved bioethanol fireplace 8 is preferably also provided with a pump 16 and pipes 17 with which bioethanol 3 or fuel present in the burner bed 10 can be pumped back to the reservoir 11.

As is also the case in figures 2 to 4, the improved bioethanol fireplace 8 is furthermore preferably provided with a control 18 for automatically controlling the pump 16 and with an electronic circuit 19 for extinguishing the improved bioethanol. ethanol fireplace 8.

In this case, the control 18 is preferably such that when the improved bio-ethanol fireplace 8 is extinguished, with the aid of the electronic circuit 19, excess bio-ethanol 3 or fuel in the burner bed 10 is automatically pumped back to the reservoir 11.

In such an embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 with automated switch-off protection in the form of the control 18 and circuit 19, the chance of a fire outside the burner 9 is reduced even more because the fireplace 8 can be extinguished quickly and because immediately after the extinguishing the hearth 8 automatically all remaining, albeit limited, amount of bioethanol 3 or fuel in the burner bed 11 is immediately removed with the pump 16 via the lines 17.

In the embodiment of Figure 2, the reservoir 11 of the improved bioethanol fireplace 8 is provided as a compartment in the burner bed 10.

A compact version of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention is thus obtained, but with rather limited possibilities for providing good control for the supply means 12 and with fewer possibilities for safely replenishing the reservoir with bioethanol 3. .

Figure 3 shows a possible, alternative embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention.

In this embodiment, the reservoir is provided in the hearth 8 near the burner bed 11 and is no longer integral with the burner bed 11.

Between the reservoir 11 and the burner bed 10 a line 20 is provided for supplying bioethanol 3 to the burner bed 10, which forms part of the supply means 12 and whereby in other embodiments, as already mentioned, all kinds of other provisions can be made to improve combustion in the burner 9.

It goes without saying that this further increases the separation between the actual fire source 7 and the storage of bioethanol 3, which contributes to the safety of this version of the improved bioethanol fireplace 8.

Figure 4 schematically shows yet another more elaborated embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention.

In this embodiment, the reservoir 11 is arranged at an even greater distance D from the burner bed 10.

This distance D is preferably at least 10 cm, more preferably at least 15 cm and even better it is to use a distance D between burner bed 10 and reservoir 12 of at least 20 cm or more.

Obviously, respecting such a distance D reduces the fire hazard even more and the possibilities for safely replenishing the reservoir 11 via the feeder 14 with bioethanol 3 while burning the improved bioethanol fireplace 8 can be greatly increased.

Moreover, in this embodiment there is sufficient space to provide all kinds of provisions in the pipe 20 or the supply means 12 with which the supply of fuel to the burner bed 10 can be dosed and the like more.

In the case of Figure 4, the add-on means 12 are, for example, provided with a carburetor 21 in which bioethanol 3 is atomized from the reservoir 11 and mixed with air 22, which is led via an inlet 23 to the carburetor 21, to form a fuel mixture 24.

The bioethanol 3 is led from the reservoir 11 to the carburetor 21 and further to the burner bed 10 by means of a pump 25.

The supply means 12 are furthermore provided with spraying means 26 in the form of a manifold or the like with which the fuel mixture 24 is sprayed onto the burner bed 10.

The supply means 12 also comprise a control 27 for adjusting the amount of fuel mixture 24 to be sprayed on the burner bed 10.

The control 27 comprises a tiltable valve 28 which more or less closes off the supply to the burner bed 10.

For adjusting the position of the valve 28 and thus for controlling the flow of fuel mixture 24 to the burner bed 10, the control 27 is provided with an electronic control 29.

In this embodiment of an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention, fuel mixture 24 is thus systematically injected onto the burner bed 10 via the spraying means 26.

The electronic control 29 determines the amount of fuel mixture 24 that may be injected onto the burner bed 10, as well as the mixing ratio between air and bioethanol 3 which preferably corresponds at least to the ratio between oxygen and ethanol that is required for a complete combustion according to: 2 C 2 H 6 + 7 O 2 = 4 CO 2 + 6 H 2 O

In this way, only the harmless and odorless water and carbon dioxide are formed during combustion and, for example, no carbon monoxide or other harmful gases.

With an improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention, both open combustion and closed combustion can be used.

The improved bioethanol fireplace 8 according to the invention is preferably placed in a housing that is easy to convert into a two-sided or three-sided device.

The invention is by no means limited to the embodiments of improved bioethanol fireplaces 8 according to the invention described by way of example and illustrated with reference to the figures, but such improved bioethanol fireplaces 8 can be realized in other ways without departing from the scope of the invention. invention.

Claims (14)

Conclusions Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) for igniting and burning up bioethanol (3), characterized in that the fireplace (8) contains at least the following elements: - a burner (9) provided with a burner bed ( 10); - a separate reservoir (11) for storing bioethanol (3); and, supply means (12) for supplying fuel (3) to the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 1, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided with a supply (14) for replenishing the reservoir (11) with bioethanol (3). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 2, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided with a supply (14) for replenishing the reservoir (11) with bioethanol (3) arranged in such a way that the reservoir (H) can be topped up without danger while the fire (8) is burning. Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 3, characterized in that the feed (14) is provided at some distance from the burner bed (10) in order to be able to fill the reservoir (11) without danger while burning the fireplace (8) Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided as a compartment in the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided in the fireplace (8) near the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided at a distance (D) of at least 10 cm from the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 7, characterized in that the reservoir (11) is provided at a distance (D) of at least 20 cm from the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (10) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a line (20) is provided between the reservoir (11) and the burner bed (10) for supplying bioethanol ( 3) to the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the supply means (12) are provided with spraying means (26) for spraying fuel (24) on the burner bed (10), as well as of a carburetor (21) in which bioethanol (3) is atomized from the reservoir (11) and mixed with air (22) to form a fuel mixture (24). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 10, characterized in that the supply means (12) are provided with a control (27) for adjusting the amount of fuel mixture (24) to be sprayed onto the burner bed (10). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 10, characterized in that the aforementioned control (27) comprises an electronic control (29). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fireplace (8) is provided with a pump (16) and pipes (17) with which bioethanol (3) present in the burner bed (10) can be pumped back to the reservoir (11). Improved bioethanol fireplace (8) according to claim 13, characterized in that the fireplace (8) is provided with a control (18) for automatically controlling the pump (16) and with an electronic circuit (19) for controlling extinguishing the hearth (8), the control (18) being such that when the hearth (8) is extinguished with the help of the electronic circuit (19), excess bioethanol (3) is automatically returned to the burner bed (10) is pumped to the reservoir (11).