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INNOVATION RESOURCES

SmartBurn

Breakthrough:
A chimney flue cleaning device that makes fires burn better and reduces the amount of smoke released into the atmosphere.

Inventor:
Peter Hutchison, Australia

Financial reward:
$2 million+

The Story:
SmartBurn

They say lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place, but fire sometimes can as Peter Hutchison found out. On two separate occasions his friend’s chimney caught fire, and he just happened to be visiting both times. The house was old, and the chimney was cracked which increased its fire risk, but it lit a fuse in Hutchison’s brain and he started to think of ways to reduce that risk.

The industrial chemist also drew inspiration from coal-fired power stations as he was becoming increasingly concerned by the amount of pollution being belched out into the atmosphere. Eventually came up with an invention called SmartBurn that makes fires burn better.

What caused his friend’s chimney to catch fire and go up in smoke were the soot and sap deposits that had accumulated on the sides of its walls. They are combustible and went up in flames as the temperature increased.

Flaming Good Idea

Hutchison’s innovation is a length of metal tubing (15 cm long) that bears more than a passing resemblance to a spectacle case, and encloses a mixture of patented and secret ingredients. When placed in a wood burning fire it reduces the smoke haze and particulate emissions by up to 50 per cent whilst simultaneously removing soot and flammable sap deposits. With the combustion process enhanced more value can be gained from the wood, and the smoke is burnt in the fire instead of being released into the atmosphere.

Independent testing by the Australian Home Heating Association (AHHA) found that on average the invention reduced particulate emissions by 37 per cent. The range of emission reduction was 24 to 50 per cent depending on the intensity of the fire. Since its launch in 2005 Australian households have prevented more than 900 tonnes of smoke haze and particulate emissions from entering the atmosphere.

Ingredients

The SmartBurn ingredients are non-toxic and solid when cold. They sit in the ‘bowl’ of the steel casing and once heated release tiny amounts of vaporized ingredients from the open ends. This vapor allows the soot and sap (smoke) to be burnt in the base of the fire rather than going up the chimney flue, which increases the amount of heat by 17 per cent. In addition a small percentage of the secret components will slowly remove any soot and sap residues on the internal walls of the chimney. And when the fire goes out and cools down, the ingredients become solid again.

A standard fire only needs one SmartBurn device which is placed at the base and not directly in the flames – it is not meant to be ‘cooked’.

Time and Money

SmartBurn took five years to go from the concept stage to market, and Hutchison dipped into his own pocket, spending $100,000 AUD on research and development, and patent protection.

What took up the most time was finding a mixture of ingredients that would work well together, as well as being environmentally friendly. They are classified as naturally occurring and safe.

Multi-Award Winner

Hutchison’s tuxedo gets regular outings because as of December 2009 SmartBurn has picked up 65 awards including an Environmental Sustainability Award and an Innovation Award at the Australian Business Awards in 2008.

Burning Ambition

The inventor believes that future SmartBurn models could have wider commercial applications as the technology will work with other types of carbon material. For example, it could be used to reduce emissions from coal-fired power stations.

by Paul Arnold

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