Performance simulation of a low‐swirl burner for a Stirling engine

A new type of gas burner for Stirling engine that can recover adequate heat from exhaust gas was designed based on the plate heat exchanger and low‐swirl combustion technology, which consists of three components: a cyclone, a burner, and a circular plate heat exchanger. The circular plate heat exchanger tightly wound around the combustion chamber plays a high efficiency of heat recovery role. In consideration of the radial symmetry of the burner, a three‐dimensional numerical simulation was carried out by Ansys15. The velocity distribution, temperature distribution, and pressure distribution of the combustion gas were presented respectively. Strong backflow that came from the exhaust gas around the root of the flame in the combustion chamber and a vortex below the inlet of the exhaust gas channel were found, which were beneficial for the combustion and improving the uniformity of temperature distribution. Combustion behaviors of the burner under standard operating conditions were obtained, the highest temperature was about 2200 K in burner and the exhaust gas entered the plate heat exchanger at the temperature of 1375 K and exited at 464 K, with the waste heat recovery efficiency over 65.8%. And, the air‐fuel ratio and combustion power had negligible effect on the waste heat recovery efficiency.     

The Experimental Study on Regenerative Heat Transfer in High Temperature Air Combustion

For the purpose of decomposing the processing gases CF4 from semiconductor manufacturers, ceramic honeycomb regenerative burner system is suggested by using the principle of HTAC. A simulated high temperature air combustion furnace has been used to determine the features of HTAC flames and the results of the decomposition of CF4. The preheat air temperature of it is above 900℃. The exhaust gas released into the atmosphere is lower than 150℃. Moreover, the efficiency of recovery of waste heat is higher than 80%, the NOx level in exhaust gas is less than 198 mg/m3 and the distribution of temperature in the furnace is nearly uniform. The factors influencing on heat transfer, temperature profile in chamber and NOX emission were discussed. Also some CF4 can be decomposed in this system.     

炼油装置加热炉节能途径与制约因素

加热炉是炼油装置的能耗大户,其节能水平对于提高炼油装置的节能水平具有重要意义。介绍了加热炉主要的节能途径：优化换热流程,降低加热炉热负荷;加热炉与其他设备联合回收余热;降低排烟温度、降低过剩空气系数、减少不完全燃烧损失、减少散热损失以提高加热炉热效率。探讨了上述节能途径的主要技术措施及应注意的问题。阐述了进一步提高加热炉节能水平的制约因素：降低排烟温度,要考虑经济性和露点腐蚀;过分降低炉外壁温度,会导致费用过高;预热空气温度过高对环保不利。提出了进一步提高加热炉节能水平的建议;认真净化燃料,降低露点温度;开发新的余热回收工艺;开发并应用“蓄热式高温空气预热贫氧燃烧技术”等新的燃烧技术;加强运行管理。     

Measurement of gas species,temperatures, char burnout,and wall heat fluxes in a 200-MWe lignite-fired boiler at different loads

We measured various operational parameters of a 200-MW_e, wall-fired, lignite utility boiler under different loads. The parameters measured were gas temperature, gas species concentration, char burnout, component release rates (C, H and N), furnace temperature, heat flux, and boiler efficiency. Cold air experiments of a single burner were conducted in the laboratory. A double swirl flow pulverized-coal burner has two ring recirculation zones that start in the secondary air region of the burner. With increasing secondary air flow, the air flow axial velocity increases, the maximum values for the radial velocity, tangential velocity, and turbulence intensity all increase, and there are slight increases in the air flow swirl intensity and the recirculation zone size. With increasing load gas, the temperature and CO concentration in the central region of burner decrease, while O₂ concentration, NO_x concentration, char burnout, and component release rates of C, H, and N increase. Pulverized-coal ignites farther into the burner, in the secondary air region. Gas temperature, O₂ concentration, NO_x concentration, char burnout and component release rates of C, H, and N all increase. Furthermore, CO concentration varies slightly and pulverized-coal ignites closer. In the side wall region, gas temperature, O₂ concentration, and NO_x concentration all increase, but CO concentration varies only slightly. In the bottom row burner region the furnace temperature and heat flux increase appreciably, but the increase become more obvious in the middle and top row burner regions and in the burnout region. Compared with a 120-MW_e load, the mean NO_x emission at the air preheater exits for 190-MW_e load increases from 589.5 mg/m³ (O₂ = 6%) to 794.6 mg/m³ (O₂ = 6%), and the boiler efficiency increases from 90.73% to 92.45%.     

Numerical investigation of the new regenerator–recuperator scheme of VOC oxidizer

The new regenerator–recuperator scheme of filtration combustion VOC oxidizing reactor is under research. Its main characteristics, such as maximum temperature of reactor, temperature of exhaust gases, NO emission and others are calculated and compared with the same characteristics of other types of reactors (co-flow filtration combustion wave reactor, counter-flow heat exchange recuperative reactor, reverse flow regenerative reactor). It is shown that the regenerator–recuperator scheme provides important advantages (wide range of flow rate, and equivalence ratio of the combustible, low temperature of the exhaust gases) compared to conventional schemes.     

燃气隧道窑热工测试与节能分析

我国工业炉窑是能耗大户,总体水平较低,具有相当大的节能潜力。以某高铝砖隧道窑为测试对象进行了详细的热工测试,测量了炉气温度、烟气参数、干燥段的气流参数以及各主要壁面的温度,通过计算窑车及物料带出的热量、干燥段排气热损失、排烟热损失和壁面散热损失等参数,对隧道窑进行了热平衡分析。结果表明,所测试隧道窑的热效率为33.4%,造成热损失的原因包括,砖坯码放方式、干燥段气流组织不合理、助燃空气量过大、围护结构保温性能差等,通过改善急冷段和干燥段气流组织,减小预混空气量,增强窑顶和烧成段保温等措施可实现该类隧道窑的节能。     

Performance analysis of metallic concentric tube recuperator in parallel flow arrangement

A performance model for parallel flow arrangement in metallic concentric tube recuperator that can be used to utilize the waste heat in the temperature range of 1100–1800 K is presented. The arrangement consists of metallic concentric shells wherein flue gases pass through the inner shell and air to be preheated passes through annular gap in the same direction. The recuperator height is divided into small elements and an energy balance is performed on each element. Necessary information about axial shell-surface, gas and air temperature distribution, and the influence of operating conditions on recuperator performance is obtained. The recuperative effectiveness is found to be increased with increasing inlet gas temperature and with decreasing fuel flow rate. The present model provides a valuable tool for metallic concentric tube recuperator performance considerations in parallel flow arrangement.     

Development of a high efficiency radiation converter using a spiral heat exchanger

Heating by radiation is widely used for materials processing. Electrical radiant heaters are the most commonly used heaters. Electricity is expensive and the combustion of fossils fuels for electricity production emits CO₂. In order to convert the energy from the fuel to radiation energy directly and efficiently, our group has developed a compact, high efficiency, radiation converter using a spiral heat exchanger to recover the energy from high-temperature exhaust gas. The spiral heat exchanger has a weld-free construction to prevent cyclic thermal stress, and is constructed from inexpensive ferrite steel plates. The combustion chamber, equipped with a swirler to mix the gas fuel and air, can achieve stable combustion. The distribution of the surface temperature on the radiant tube was measured by a radiation thermometer, called a thermo viewer, and then the radiant energy emitted from the radiant tube was estimated. The efficiency of the spiral heat exchanger was measured from the temperature of the inlet air and exhaust gas. The heat exchanger achieved a high effectiveness, and heat loss from the exhaust gas was minimized. Consequently, a highly efficient radiation converter was produced to convert the fuel energy to radiation energy.     

Parameter optimization through performance analysis of model based control of a batch heat treatment furnace with low NOx radiant tube burner

A model based control structure for heat treating a 0.5% C steel slab in a batch furnace with low NO_x radiant tube burner is designed and tested for performance to yield optimal parameter values using the model developed in the companion paper. Combustion is considered in a highly preheated and product gas diluted mode. Controlled combustion with a proposed arrangement for preheating and diluting the air by recirculating the exhaust gas that can be retrofitted with an existing burner yields satisfactory performance and emission characteristics. Finally, the effect of variable property considerations are presented and critically analyzed.     

Experimental study of the fuel jet combustion in high temperature and low oxygen content exhaust gases

The performance of high temperature air combustion (HiTAC) depends on the heat regenerator efficiency and on the way fuel is mixed with furnace gases. In this work, combustion of a single fuel jet of gasol (>95% of propane) was investigated experimentally. Experiments were carried out in steady-state conditions using a single jet flame furnace. The jet of fuel was co-axially injected into high temperature exhaust gases generated by means of a gas burner also fired with gasol. Thus, instead of highly preheated and oxygen depleted air, which was normally used by other researches for such studies, this work has used high temperature and low oxygen content exhaust gases as the oxidiser. A water-cooled fuel nozzle was used to control fuel inlet temperature. Influence of the oxygen content in the oxidiser, at temperatures of 860–890 °C, on the flame visibility and the reactants composition was investigated. The combustion of gasol in hot flue gases appeared to be very stable and complete even at very low oxygen concentration. The oxygen concentration in the oxidiser was found to have a substantial effect on flame size, luminosity, colour, visibility and lift-off distance. Reduced oxygen concentration increases the flame size and lift-off distance, and decreases luminosity and visibility. The HiTAC flame first became bluish and then non-visible at sufficiently low concentration of oxygen in the oxidiser. In this work, results are presented for the constant ratio between fuel jet velocity and velocity of co-flowing flue gases. This ratio was equal to 26.     

The study on the heat transfer characteristics of oxygen fuel combustion boiler

According to 350MW and 600MW boilers, under oxygen fuel condition, through the reasonable control of the primary and secondary flow and the correct option and revision of mathematical model, the temperature distribution, heat flux distribution and absorption heat distribution, etc. was obtained which compared with those under air condition. Through calculation, it is obtained that the primary and secondary flow mixed well, good tangentially fired combustion in furnace was formed, the temperature under air condition obviously higher than the temperature under O26 condition. The adiabatic flame temperature of wet cycle was slightly higher than that of dry cycle. The maximum heat load appeared on the waterwall around the burner area. The heat load gradually decreased along the furnace height up and down in burner area. The heat absorption capacity of the furnace under O26 was lower than that under the air condition. The heat absorption capacity of the platen heating surface under O26 was equal to that under air condition. And the heat absorbing capacity of waterwall under O26 was about7%~12% less than that under air condition.     

THREE-DIMENSIONAL ANALYSIS OF THE WALKING-BEAM-TYPE SLAB REHEATING FURNACE IN HOT STRIP MILLS

Three-dimensional analysis is performed for the turbulent reactive flow and radiative heat transfer in the walking-beam-type slab reheating furnace by FLUENT. A simplified burner is validated against the results of the actual burner with the detailed grid resolution to avoid an excessive number of grids. The predicted temperature distribution in the furnace and global energy flow fractions are in reasonable agreement with available data. Distribution of the heat flux to the slabs, velocity vectors, and all major scalar variables in the furnace also are predicted. This study shows that three-dimensional analysis may be a useful tool to understand quantitatively the complicated combustion and heat transfer characteristics in the furnace.     

Operational characteristics of a parallel jet MILD combustion burner system

This study describes the performance and stability characteristics of a parallel jet MILD (Moderate or Intense Low-oxygen Dilution) combustion burner system in a laboratory-scale furnace, in which the reactants and exhaust ports are all mounted on the same wall. Thermal field measurements are presented for cases with and without combustion air preheat, in addition to global temperature and emission measurements for a range of equivalence ratio, heat extraction, air preheat and fuel dilution levels. The present furnace/burner configuration proved to operate without the need for external air preheating, and achieved a high degree of temperature uniformity. Based on an analysis of the temperature distribution and emissions, PSR model predictions, and equilibrium calculations, the CO formation was found to be related to the mixing patterns and furnace temperature rather than reaction quenching by the heat exchanger. The critical equivalence ratio, or excess air level, which maintains low CO emissions is reported for different heat exchanger positions, and an optimum operating condition is identified. Results of CO and NO_x emissions, together with visual observations and a simplified two-dimensional analysis of the furnace aerodynamics, demonstrate that fuel jet momentum controls the stability of this multiple jet system. A stability diagram showing the threshold for stable operation is reported, which is not explained by previous stability criteria.     

Fuel‐lean VOCs combustion in a porous burner stacked with alumina balls: A case for ethylene combustion

A porous burner stacked in turn with 3‐ and 9‐mm alumina pellets was established to perform C₂H₄ combustion experiments by acquiring the flammable limits, temperature variation characteristics, combustion wave velocity, pollutant emissions, and treatment efficiency. The burner operated well at equivalence ratios within 0.3 to 0.7. Larger alumina pellets widened the burner's lower flammable limit. As the flame propagated downstream, the higher premixed gas flow velocity and larger alumina pellets, the higher combustion wave velocity, whereas the circumstances were opposite as the flame spread upstream. The combustion temperature increased with the equivalence ratio and premixed gas flow velocity. In response to the effect of the alumina pellet dimension, 3‐mm alumina pellets corresponded to higher combustion temperatures, lower CO emissions, and higher treatment efficiency than those less than 9‐mm conditions.     

Numerical and experimental investigation of a mild combustion burner

An industrial burner operating in the MILD combustion regime through internal recirculation of exhaust gases has been characterized numerically. To develop a self-sufficient numerical model of the burner, two subroutines are coupled to the CFD solver to model the air preheater section and heat losses from the burner through radiation. The resulting model is validated against experimental data on species concentration and temperature. A 3-dimensional CFD model of the burner is compared to an axisymmetric model, which allows considerable computational saving, but neglects some important burner features such as the presence of recirculation windows. Errors associated with the axisymmetric model are evaluated and discussed, as well as possible simplified procedures for engineering purposes. Modifications of the burner geometry are investigated numerically and suggested in order to enhance its performances. Such modifications are aimed at improving exhaust gases recirculation which is driven by the inlet air jet momentum. The burner is found to produce only 30 ppm_v of NO when operating in MILD combustion mode. For the same air preheating the NO emissions would be of approximately 1000 ppm_v in flame combustion mode. It is also shown that the burner ensures more homogeneous temperature distribution in the outer surfaces with respect to flame operation, and this is attractive for burners used in furnaces devoted to materials' thermal treatment processes. The effect of air excess on the combustion regime is also discussed.     

带烟气回流W型辐射管加热装置的性能分析

实验研究了某采用烟气回流技术的W型辐射管加热装置的性能。研究认为,烟气回流和分级燃烧不仅能保证燃料的完全燃烧,而且还可有效抑制NOx的生成,烟气中NOx含量小于70×10-6。高效换热器可提高热回收效率,换热器的热效率大于51％,辐射管综合热效率达到77.1%。由于一次风量过少,空气、煤气喷出口处一级燃烧强度低,烧嘴喷头处温度低,辐射管温度均匀性较差。     

一种小型立式燃油锅炉的改造及实验研究

从目前立式燃油锅炉的发展现状出发,针对某小型立式燃油锅炉热效率不高,NO_x排放偏高的缺点,提出了相应改造方案,建立传热模型分析改造前后炉内燃烧与传热过程,并通过实验进行相关测试研究。经过分析和实验,结果表明:通过在炉膛中加装内炉胆,强化了燃烧与传热过程,提高了热效率,并改善了烟气排放;改造后的燃油锅炉炉膛温度分布均匀,无明显高温区,过量空气系数由1.10降低至1.05以下,NO_x排放降低25%以上,排烟温度明显降低,热效率提高2个百分点左右,以上均证明了该改造方案的可行性。     

Assessment of natural gas/hydrogen blends as an alternative fuel for industrial heat treatment furnaces

The present study investigates the application of natural gas/hydrogen blends as an alternative fuel for industrial heat treatment furnaces and their economic potential for decreasing carbon dioxide emissions in this field of application. Doing so, a detailed technological analysis of several influencing parameters on the heating system was performed as well as a consideration of furnace heating technology challenges. Starting with an evaluation of the main thermophysical properties of the blends and their corresponding flue gases, requirements for the heating systems were identified. Potential ways of decreasing flue gas losses and increasing the heat transfer are shown. In the radiant tube application, an increased overall combustion efficiency of about 1.2% was measured at 40 vol% hydrogen in the fuel gas. Influences on the air to gas ratio control system of the furnace is a further important point, which was considered in this study. Two commonly used control systems were evaluated concerning their capabilities to regulate the gas flow rates of blends with varying hydrogen contents and combustion properties, such as Wobbe Index. This is important, since it shows the capability to retrofit existing furnaces. Two types of burners were tested with different natural gas/hydrogen blends. This includes an open jet burner with air-staged and flameless combustion operation modes. A recuperative burner for radiant tube application was considered as well in these tests. Doing so, the nitrogen oxide formation of both systems under different operating conditions and different fuel blends were evaluated. An increase by about 10% at air-staged combustion and about 100% at flameless combustion was measured by a hydrogen content of 40 vol% in comparison to pure natural gas firing. Finally, the additional fuel costs of natural gas hydrogen blends and different cases are presented in an economic analysis. The driving force for the use of hydrogen as a fuel is the price of the CO2 certificates, which are considered in the analysis at a current price of 25.2 €/t CO2.     

Influence of nozzle design parameters on exhaust gas characteristics in practical-scale flameless hydrogen combustion

Considering the trend toward decarbonization, hydrogen is expected to be used as a fuel in industrial furnace burners. One of the challenges in using hydrogen as a fuel is the increase in thermal-NOx emission compared to hydrocarbon fuel owing to its high flame temperature. This study experimentally evaluated the combustion characteristics of flameless combustion, which is a low-NO_x combustion technology, with hydrogen as a fuel in a practical-scale experimental furnace as well as the effect of nozzle design parameters on the combustion characteristics. Through comparative tests with city gas by considering parameters, such as the fuel gas velocity, combustion air velocity, and air nozzle pitch, the low-NO_x effect of flameless combustion was confirmed in hydrogen combustion with appropriate nozzle design parameters. The optimal nozzle design parameters to achieve this effect differ from those for city gas, and the design guidelines are summarized.     

Decarbonized combustion performance of a radiant mesh burner operating on pipeline natural gas mixed with hydrogen

With the pressing need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, blending lower or zero carbon fuels like renewable hydrogen into natural gas is a promising and practical way to achieve clean energy transition. From the perspective of end users and combustion device manufactures, one of the major concerns is the influence of the renewable contents on the combustion devices performance. The possible renewable gas content percentage in pipeline also interests policy makers and gas utility companies. The present study investigates on the influence of hydrogen contents on the operating performance of a surface burner, which is widely adopted in industrial, commercial and residential applications. The interactions among heating load, excess air level and fuel contents are studied by a 3-factor13-level experiment design. Evaluated combustion performance characteristics include flame characteristics, burner/exhaust temperature and emissions (NO, NO₂, N₂O, CO, UHC, NH₃). The results showed that hydrogen addition to natural gas slightly increased the burner surface temperature but did not have significant impact on other burner performance parameters. Up to 20% (by volume) natural gas was replaced by hydrogen, and no abnormal effect was observed. Furthermore, tests carried out in a prototype water heater showed similar performance. This study gives a positive sign relative to replacing pipeline natural gas with renewable hydrogen at a low percentage without modifying the burner geometry.