On a submarine, heat is never free. Every system that runs hot adds to the boat’s cooling burden—which means more chilled water, more air conditioning, and more power drawn from the ship.
A Winter 2025 Naval Engineers Journal technical paper by Franklin J. Gulian, P.E., looks at a quiet but constant contributor to that burden: the Mark V catalytic burner, which protects submarine air quality by destroying trace contaminants in a closed environment. The Navy’s current catalyst performs well, but it requires the burner to operate around 500°F, and that temperature has real ship impacts—each degree up or down changes waste heat by about 74 watts.
The study asks a simple, practical question: what happens if the Mark V uses a more modern catalyst design? Specifically, it compares the current granular catalyst media to a platinum-based monolithic “honeycomb” module common in industrial emissions control. In testing, the platinum monolith removed a representative contaminant more effectively at lower temperatures than the current catalyst.
The implication is compelling: if the Mark V can run cooler while still cleaning the air, the submarine sheds waste heat. Gulian estimates that dropping operating temperature by 100°F could reduce Mark V power use by about 7.4 kW—roughly a 24% cut in waste heat from that system.
The paper also flags operational benefits sailors will appreciate: monolithic modules are cleaner to handle than granular media, and platinum catalysts can be reclaimed and recycled, potentially reducing hazardous waste. This isn’t a call for an overnight fleet change—it’s an evidence-based case that a proven industrial approach may offer the Navy a rare win-win: cleaner air, less heat, and less handling burden, with longer-duration testing as the next step.
Read the Winter 2025 NEJ issue / get access to the paper
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