Material sustains burning fires

It is hoped that the high temperature-resistant mesh called Coalmiser, developed by the Nottinghamshire-based company Fibre Technology (Fibretech), could benefit thousands of people by enabling the coal’s heat to be released over a much longer period of time.

Fibretech, based at Pinxton, approached the Environmental Technology Centre (ETC) at the university after discovering the new application for its Rapid Solidification Technology (RST) for stainless-steel fibres.

There, researchers Dr Mike Clifford and PhD student Joel Chaney in the Faculty of Engineering, in collaboration with Arthur Scott from National Energy Action, showed that when the mesh was placed over the grate of a domestic open fire, or replaced the grate altogether, the fire lasted 30 per cent longer with only a slight reduction in temperature.

Dr Mike Clifford said: ’The results from these tests suggest that this material could be useful to keep domestic coal fires burning longer without significantly reducing the temperature. I’m also interested in the impact that this material could have in reducing wood consumption in stoves used for cooking in poor countries.’