Catalytic Converters to Reduce Fireplace Emissions
Catalytic converters do for wood burning fireplace inserts exactly what they do on your automobile: they reduce emissions. To do this, a noble metal ( such as platinum, paladeium, or a combination) is coated over a ceramic or stainless steel honeycomb surface. All emissions from the fireplace go through the honeycomb and, due to these metals, most undesirable by-products are eliminated. This results in very clean emissions from the fireplace, consisting mainly of water vapor and carbon dioxide. The catalytic converter becomes fowled after a time, typically every 2-5 years, depending on how much the fireplace is used. The downside is cost as a new converter needs to be inserted, which is generally a $150-250 investment. The upside is that the emissions are very clean so your flue will stay clean for years; soot and creosote will not be a problem. However, given the improvements in secondary combustion designs, you may want to consider this alternative due to its maintenance-free nature.
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June 25th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
[...] keeps the glass clean and cooler. Emissions are controlled by either secondary combustion or catalytic converters and heat exchange between the insert’s firebox and room air can be increased by using an [...]