Pollutant emissions reduction and performance optimization of an industrial radiant tube burner

Journal Article · Sat Jul 15 00:00:00 EDT 2006 · Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2005.12.006· OSTI ID:20770215

Scribano, Gianfranco; Solero, Giulio; Coghe, Aldo ^[1]

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1. Dipartimento di Energetica, Politecnico di Milano, via La Masa, 34, 20156 Milano (Italy)

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation performed upon a single-ended self-recuperative radiant tube burner fuelled by natural gas in the non-premixed mode, which is used in the steel industry for surface treatment. The main goal of the research activity was a systematic investigation of the burner aimed to find the best operating conditions in terms of optimum equivalence ratio, thermal power and lower pollutant emissions. The analysis, which focused on the main parameters influencing the thermal efficiency and pollutant emissions at the exhaust (NO{sub x} and CO), has been carried out for different operating conditions of the burner: input thermal powers from 12.8 up to 18kW and equivalence ratio from 0.5 (very lean flame) to 0.95 (quasi-stoichiometric condition). To significantly reduce pollutant emissions ensuring at the same time the thermal requirements of the heating process, it has been developed a new burner configuration, in which a fraction of the exhaust gases recirculates in the main combustion region through a variable gap between the burner efflux and the inner flame tube. This internal recirculation mechanism (exhaust gases recirculation, EGR) has been favoured through the addition of a pre-combustion chamber terminated by a converging nozzle acting as a mixing/ejector to promote exhaust gas entrainment into the flame tube. The most important result of this solution was a decrease of NO{sub x} emissions at the exhaust of the order of 50% with respect to the original burner geometry, for a wide range of thermal power and equivalence ratio. (author)

• OSTI ID: 20770215
• Journal Information: Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science, Vol. 30, Issue 7; Other Information: Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved; ISSN 0894-1777
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

03 NATURAL GAS
GAS BURNERS
OPERATION
OPTIMIZATION
THERMAL EFFICIENCY
POWER RANGE 10-100 KW
AIR POLLUTION CONTROL
NITROGEN OXIDES
CARBON MONOXIDE
DESIGN
NATURAL GAS