Applications for Micro Chemical and Thermal Systems

Abstract

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing a variety of applications using Micro Chemical and Thermal Systems (MICRO-CATS). The products represent a decade of research and development by PNNL in miniature systems. Miniature devices include fuel vaporizers, fuel processors, fuel cells, heat pumps, heaters, power generators, heat exchangers, and chemical processing units. The sponsors for their development include the Office of Transportation (OTT) in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (Army), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration (DARPA) and others. OTT wants to have fuel cells in automobiles. DARPA needs miniature heating, cooling and power generation units for soldiers in the field. NASA wants miniature chemical plants to produce oxygen, fuel, and other things from the resources available in outer space. For these microtechnology users, the status of current development and the promise for future applications of miniature systems are shown.