Flameless Personal Water Heater Using Battlefield Fuel (JP-8)

A flameless personal water heater will be developed that is capable of heating small individual volumes of water for meal preparation, sanitation, or hygiene. The heater will react air and JP-8 in an enclosed flow path and transfer the heat generated to water. The device will be packaged into an immersion-style heater that fits within any generic insulated cup. The key innovations required for development of the heater are in the areas of catalysis, fuel addition, and mixing. Use of a highly active, stable catalyst will allow clean operation at conditions that favor high efficiency. A method of fuel addition will be developed that requires no moving parts or external fuel pressurization. Features of the design will act to promote static mixing, resulting in full combustion with clean exhaust. The final packaged device will incorporate features that allow the heater to be used safely, effectively, and easily. It will be suitable for use indoors with no health hazards or irritants produced. Advances in efficiency over currently available heaters will benefit the user by requiring the transport of less liquid fuel.