Impact of H2 addition on flame stability and pollutant emissions for an atmospheric kerosene/air swirled flame of laboratory scaled gas turbine

The purposes of this study are to compare the stability domains and the pollutant emissions when combustion occurs with and without addition of H₂ to a kerosene (Jet A1)/air premixed prevaporised mixture injected in a lean gas turbine combustor. Chemiluminescence of CH*, pollutant emissions (NO_x and CO) and pressure fluctuations data are simultaneously collected in order to determine the effects of H₂ addition on the stability of the combustion and on the flame structure for an inlet temperature of 473 K, atmospheric pressure and for a large range of equivalence ratio (from 0.3 to 1). Addition of hydrogen enables keeping stable combustion conditions when, for the same kerosene mass flow, the flame becomes lifted and very unstable. As for pollutant emissions, results show that the equivalence ratio is the key parameter to control NO_x emission even in the situation where the combustion power is increased due to H₂ addition. As H₂ addition strongly increases the flammability limits and the combustion stability domain, stable combustion can occur at leaner equivalence ratio and then decreases CO and NO_x emissions. This is an important fact since no substitution effect takes place in the reduction of NO_x and CO emissions. Study at constant combustion power and equivalence ratio by adjusting hydrogen and kerosene mass flow shows again a decrease in the pollutant emissions. Hydrogen injection in power generation systems using combustion seems to be a promising way in combustion research since due to the combined effects of enlarging combustion stability domain and reducing NO_x emissions by substituting kerosene to the benefit of H₂.