Patent attributes
An aircraft fuel deoxygenation and tank inerting system includes an inert gas source, a fuel deoxygenation system, and an air/fuel heat exchanger. The inert gas source is configured to supply inert gas having an oxygen concentration of less than 3%. The fuel deoxygenation system is adapted to receive fuel from a fuel source and the inert gas from the inert gas source. The fuel deoxygenation system is configured to remove oxygen from the fuel and thereby generate and supply deoxygenated fuel and oxygen-rich purge gas. The air/fuel heat exchanger is adapted to receive compressed air from a compressed air source and the deoxygenated fuel from the fuel deoxygenation system. The air/fuel heat exchanger is configured to transfer heat from the compressed air to the deoxygenated fuel, to thereby supply cooled compressed air and heated deoxygenated fuel.
