Analysis of the combustion of methane and an equimolar mixture methane-syngas in a surface-stabilized combustion burner: pollutant efficiency and emissions

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Carlos Arrieta
Andrés Amell
Layrisser Iral
Ángel Valencia
Arley Cardona

Abstract

The primary objective of this work is to study the combustion of an equimolar mixture of methane and syngas (CH4-SG) in a ceramic surface-stabilized combustion burner. We examine the effects of the fuel composition, the aeration rate and the thermal input on thermal efficiency and pollutant emissions. In this study, we evaluate a syngas with a high hydrogen content that is similar to those obtained by coal gasification using Sasol/Lurgi gasification technology or biomass gasification. To determine the effect of the aeration rate (?), the burner performance is analyzed at ? = 1.4 and ? = 1.1. The thermal inputs evaluated in this study correspond to three values (1.0, 1.8, and 2.5 kW) found in household appliances.The results for this experimental burner design indicate that the surface-stabilized combustion burner has a large capacity to allow replacement of CH4 to syngas in equimolar proportions with thermal efficiency that are generally higher than those obtained in a conventional burner. However, it was found that it is necessary to have a large modulation of the aeration rate for an optimal performance. We also found that pollutant emissions and thermal efficiency in surfacestabilized combustion burner are very sensitive to changes in the thermal input and emissions.