Combustion in inert, catalytic and combustible porous media occurs under th
e influence of a large range of geometric length scales, thermophysical and
thermochemical properties, and flow, heat and mass transfer conditions. As
a result, a large range of phenomenological length and time scales control
the extent of departure from local thermal and chemical nonequilibrium. Th
e use of intraphase and interphase nonequilibria have allowed for the desig
n of new combustion processes and systems, such as, catalytic reactors and
converters, porous radiant burners, direct energy and gas conversion device
s and systems, chemical sensors, and material synthesis processes. Improvem
ent of current and design of yet newer and more innovative systems requires
further investigations into the gas-phase and surface chemistry, solid-sta
te and condensed-phase physics, transport in disordered structures, and mat
hematical and numerical methods. Here we summarize the processes leading to
thermal and chemical nonequilibrium, their role in the combustion in porou
s media, their innovative uses and effects on applications, the current mod
eling of these processes and the modeling techniques that may allow for fur
ther improvements and developments. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. Ah right
s reserved.