LO-NOx burner

Around 1986 John Joyce (of Bowin Cars fame), an influential Australian inventor, first learned about oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and their role in the production of smog and acid rain.

His first introduction to the complexities of the subject was brought about by the work of Fred Barnes and Dr John Bromley from the state Energy Commission of Western Australia.

[1] The vast majority of the research and development stretching back over twenty years was about large scale industrial burners and complex mechanisms which, in the end, did not produce what one would consider low NOx (2 ng/J or ~ 4 ppm at 0% O2 on dry basis).

In the late 1980s, Health and Environment Authorities in Australia raised concerns about the indoor air quality and the extent that particularly older style unflued gas heaters were contributing to higher than acceptable levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2).

[4] The New South Wales government, through the Public Works Department, also re-evaluated alternative methods of heating classrooms, to ensure a safe and healthy environment for students.

It was in this context, that John Joyce's company Bowin Technology embarked on a major research & development program aimed at minimising nitrogen dioxide emissions from unflued gas heaters.

In 1989, an immediate call to reduce the indoor nitrogen dioxide (NO2) level, was triggered by widely publicised articles and media coverage in New South Wales, highlighting the effect this chemical has on respiratory sensitive people, such as asthmatics and those with bronchial problems.

Consequently John Joyce learned that a 'harmless' part of NOx emissions, nitric oxide (NO), in the presence of hydrocarbons (such as household aerosol propellants, possible gas leaks and ingress of vehicle exhaust fume), converts to NO2.

It is well established that conventional "blue flame" or bunsen gas burners produce oxides of nitrogen at levels of 30-50 nanograms per joule[5][6] and are as such not considered to have potential for NOx reduction.

In 1993 John Joyce received an Australian Design Award and Powerhouse Museum Selection status for his "SLE" heater range, which incorporate LO-NOx burners.