Combustion systems

The Expression, Calculation and Importance of the Equivalence Ratio in Different Combustion Systems... 

In the expression for heating value, it is useful to define the physical state of the motor fuel for conventional motor fuels such as gasoline, diesei fuel, and jet fuels, the liquid state is chosen most often as the reference. Nevertheless, if the material is already in its vapor state before entering the combustion system because of mechanical action like atomization or thermal effects such as preheating by exhaust gases, an increase of usefui energy resufts that is not previously taken into consideration. 

This category comprises conventional LPG (commercial propane and butane), home-heating oil and heavy fuels. All these materials are used to produce thermal energy in equipment whose size varies widely from small heaters or gas stoves to refinery furnaces. Without describing the requirements in detail for each combustion system, we will give the main specifications for each of the different petroleum fuels. 

The European regulations have set SO2 emission limits for industrial combustion systems. They range from 1700 mg/Nm for power generation systems of less than 300 MW and to 400 mg/Nm for those exceeding 500 MW between 300 and 500 MW, the requirements are a linear interpolation (Figure 5.24). To give an idea how difficult it is to meet these requirements, recall that for a fuel having 4% sulfur, the SO2 emissions in a conventional boiler are about 6900 mg/Nm this means that a desulfurization level of 75% will be necessary to attain the SO2 content of 1700 mg/Nm and a level of 94% to reach 400 mg/Nm. ... 

Ozone, known for its beneficial role as a protective screen against ultraviolet radiation in the stratosphere, is a major pollutant at low altitudes (from 0 to 2000 m) affecting plants, animals and human beings. Ozone can be formed by a succession of photochemical reactions that preferentially involve hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides emitted by the different combustion systems such as engines and furnaces. 

Laser Raman diagnostic teclmiques offer remote, nonintnisive, nonperturbing measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution [158], This is particularly advantageous in the area of combustion chemistry. Physical probes for temperature and concentration measurements can be debatable in many combustion systems, such as furnaces, internal combustors etc., since they may disturb the medium or, even worse, not withstand the hostile enviromnents [159]. Laser Raman techniques are employed since two of the dominant molecules associated with air-fed combustion are O2 and N2. Flomonuclear diatomic molecules unable to have a nuclear coordinate-dependent dipole moment caimot be diagnosed by infrared spectroscopy. Other combustion species include CFl, CO2, FI2O and FI2 [160]. These molecules are probed by Raman spectroscopy to detenuine the temperature profile and species concentration m various combustion processes. 

Kohse-Hdinghaus K 1994 Laser techniques for the quantitative detection of reactive intermediates in combustion systems Proc. Energy Combust. Sc/. 20 203-79... 

J. W. Hastie and D. W. BonneU, Molecular Chemist of Inhibited Combustion Systems, Feport NBSIF 80-2169, Nad. Buieau of Standards, Washington, D.C., 1980. 

Given the mechanisms and temperatures, waste combustion systems typically employ higher percentages of excess air, and typically also have lower cross-sectional and volumetric heat release rates than those associated with fossil fuels. Representative combustion conditions are shown in Table 11 for wet wood waste with 50—60% moisture total basis, municipal soHd waste, and RDF. 

Formation of Airborne Emissions. Airborne emissions are formed from combustion of waste fuels as a function of certain physical and chemical reactions and mechanisms. In grate-fired systems, particulate emissions result from particles being swept through the furnace and boiler in the gaseous combustion products, and from incomplete oxidation of the soHd particles, with consequent char carryover. If pile burning is used, eg, the mass bum units employed for unprocessed MSW, typically only 20—25% of the unbumed soHds and inerts exit the combustion system as flyash. If spreader-stoker technologies are employed, between 75 and 90% of the unbumed soHds and inerts may exit the combustion system in the form of flyash. 

A significant issue in combustors in the mid-1990s is the performance of the process in an environmentally acceptable manner through the use of either low sulfur coal or post-combustion clean-up of the flue gases. Thus there is a marked trend to more efficient methods of coal combustion and, in fact, a combustion system that is able to accept coal without the necessity of a post-combustion treatment or without emitting objectionable amounts of sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and particulates is very desirable (51,52). 

Combustion Systems. Combustion systems vary in nature depending on the nature of the feedstock and the air needed for the combustion process (54). However, the two principal types of coal-buming systems are usually referred to as layer and chambered. The former refers to fixed beds the latter is more specifically for pulverized fuel. 

W. Wein, Flow Dynamics of Atmospheric Fluid Bed Combustion Systems and their Effect on SO Capture and NO Suppression, trans. Lurgi from UGB Magafine, Feb. 1985, pp. 119-123. 

The high temperatures in the MHD combustion system mean that no complex organic compounds should be present in the combustion products. Gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer analysis of radiant furnace slag and ESP/baghouse composite, down to the part per biUion level, confirms this behef (53). With respect to inorganic priority pollutants, except for mercury, concentrations in MHD-derived fly-ash are expected to be lower than from conventional coal-fired plants. More complete discussion of this topic can be found in References 53 and 63. 

Thep and q denote the integral exponents of D in the respective summations, and thereby expHcitiy define the diameter that is being used. and are the number and representative diameter of sampled drops in each size class i For example, the arithmetic mean diameter, is a simple average based on the diameters of all the individual droplets in the spray sample. The volume mean diameter, D q, is the diameter of a droplet whose volume, if multiphed by the total number of droplets, equals the total volume of the sample. The Sauter mean diameter, is the diameter of a droplet whose ratio of volume-to-surface area is equal to that of the entire sample. This diameter is frequendy used because it permits quick estimation of the total Hquid surface area available for a particular industrial process or combustion system. Typical values of pressure swid atomizers range from 50 to 100 p.m. 

The phase Doppler method utilizes the wavelength of light as the basis of measurement. Hence, performance is not vulnerable to fluctuations in light intensity. The technique has been successfully appHed to dense sprays, highly turbulent flows, and combustion systems. It is capable of making simultaneous measurements of droplet size, velocity, number density, and volume flux. 

There are a number of sources of instability in premixed combustion systems (23,24). 

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS IN FOSSIL FUEL COMBUSTION SYSTEMS... 

Nitrogen Oxides. From the combustion of fuels containing only C, H, and O, the usual ak pollutants or emissions of interest are carbon monoxide, unbumed hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen (NO ). The interaction of the last two in the atmosphere produces photochemical smog. NO, the sum of NO and NO2, is formed almost entkely as NO in the products of flames typically 5 or 10% of it is subsequently converted to NO2 at low temperatures. Occasionally, conditions in a combustion system may lead to a much larger fraction of NO2 and the undeskable visibiUty thereof, ie, a very large exhaust plume. 

S. Matsushita and co-workers. Development of the Toyota Eean Combustion System, SAE 850044, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, Pa., 1985. 

No SCR catalyst can operate economically over the whole temperature range possible for combustion systems. As a result, three general classes of catalysts have evolved for commercial SCR systems (44) precious-metal catalysts for operation at low temperatures, base metals for operation at medium temperatures, and 2eohtes for operation at higher temperatures. 

Carhon Monoxide Carbon monoxide is a key intermediate in the oxidation of all hydrocarbons. In a well-adjusted combustion system, essentially all the CO is oxidized to CO9 and final emission of CO is veiy low indeed (a few parts per million). However, in systems which have low temperature zones (for example, where a flame impinges on a wall or a furnace load) or which are in poor adjustment (for example, an individual burner fuel-air ratio out of balance in a multiburner... 

Unbumed Hydrocarbons Various unburned hydrocarbon species may be emitted from hydrocarbon flames. In general, there are two classes of unburned hydrocarbons (1) small molecules that are the intermediate products of combustion (for example, formaldehyde) and (2) larger molecules that are formed by pyro-synthesis in hot, fuel-rich zones within flames, e.g., benzene, toluene, xylene, and various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Many of these species are listed as Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) in Title III of the Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990 and are therefore of particular concern. In a well-adjusted combustion system, emission or HAPs is extremely low (typically, parts per trillion to parts per billion). However, emission of certain HAPs may be of concern in poorly designed or maladjusted systems. 

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