Carbon Fiber Heating Elements: Efficiency and Applications

Carbon fiber heating elements are now widely applied in various industrial equipment. How effective are they in saving energy?

Transparent quartz tube carbon fiber far infrared radiators are infrared heating components with wavelength selectivity. They utilize woven carbon fiber strips as heating elements, enclosed within transparent quartz tubes which serve as thermal radiation and infrared radiation mediums. The quality of the quartz tubes, processed from fused quartz sand, directly influences the quality of carbon fiber far infrared radiators.

Using carbon fiber heating elements as the source of far infrared radiation achieves high efficiency in both electric-to-heat and electric-to-radiation conversions, reaching 95%-98%. This surpasses the 60% efficiency of resistance wire quartz heating tubes. Additionally, these elements have low thermal inertia and rapid heating and cooling cycles, heating up in just 5-10 seconds. They are particularly suited for rapid heating applications and have been successfully deployed in industries such as painting, powder coating, printing, food processing, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals.

Transparent quartz tube radiators come in various styles including tubular, panel, lamp, and immersion types. Among these, panel and lamp styles are crafted using carbon fiber heating elements shaped accordingly, with added reflectors or reflective coatings on the back for directional radiation and heating of objects.

Semi-coated white carbon fiber heating elements offer higher infrared utilization efficiency for directional radiation. They are a cost-effective option, slightly more expensive than transparent heating tubes but significantly cheaper than reflective hoods and semi-gilded forms. The reflectance of semi-coated white heating elements can reach 70%-75%, making them popular choices in industrial tunnel furnaces and paint drying rooms.

In industrial production, carbon fiber heating elements as sources of far infrared radiation find applications in various equipment. They are notably used in tunnel ovens for drying adhesives, pre-baking paints, and in large-scale paint drying rooms. Developed by a university in Tianjin, China, the Dim Spot Infrared Drying Machine boasts 1.6 times the thermal efficiency of roller press spray single-board dryers, with water consumption during drying at only 1.3kWh/kg. The equipment is compact, of high quality, and requires half to one-fourth the energy consumption of similar traditional electric or hot air machines, without the need for additional boilers or ductwork, resulting in lower initial investment costs.

Carbon fiber far infrared radiators represent a new generation of energy-saving products characterized by high applicability, compact structure, high production efficiency, low investment costs, and energy savings. In today’s increasingly severe international and domestic environmental conditions, particularly with worsening haze, the widespread adoption of carbon fiber heating elements offers unique advantages in protecting the ecological environment and conserving energy.

GlobalQT specializes in manufacturing high-quality quartz tubes and carbon fiber heating elements. For more information, visit our website or contact us via email at contact@globalquartztube.com.