Mixture temperature-controlled combustion: A revolutionary concept for ultra-low NOX emission

Schlieren Analysis of Non-Mild Distributed Combustion in a Mixture Temperature-Controlled Burner

“…The test conditions are summarized in Table 1 with the same parameter matrix as in Ref. [14], i.e., using a uniform thermal power and varying atomizing gauge pressure, p g , and equivalence ratio, φ, which was determined from the flue gas O 2 concentration that features 0. ) combustion was also performed as a reference since its characteristics are well-known in the literature [34].…”

“…combustion was also performed as a reference since its characteristics are well-known in the literature [34]. Combustion modes, flame images, and pollutant emission data were discussed earlier [14]. The Schlieren setup provided excellent quality images since no burning droplet cloud was observed, which would otherwise require an advanced optical setup [35].…”

“…Consequently, MTC combustion should be compared to traditional swirl burners, which operate with V-shaped flames since they have similar fuel and combustion air inlet conditions. The NO X advantage of MTC combustion is more than 50% over V-shaped flames, while neither CO nor unburnt hydrocarbon emission is compromised [14]. Moreover, distributed flames show a very low susceptibility to thermoacoustic oscillations, proven recently by combined microphone and photomultiplier tube measurements [18].…”

“…The challenges of implementing this concept into gas turbines are summarized by Xing et al [13], including the required recirculation rate and temperature criteria. It was demonstrated recently that distributed combustion could be achieved without oxygen dilution using the Mixture-Temperature Controlled (MTC) combustion concept [14]. The need for excluding external flue gas recirculation is a question of system design, while special combustion chambers may maintain significant internal recirculation to have a highly diluted reaction zone [15], avoiding combustion air dilution by flue gas or inert gas.…”

“…The need for excluding external flue gas recirculation is a question of system design, while special combustion chambers may maintain significant internal recirculation to have a highly diluted reaction zone [15], avoiding combustion air dilution by flue gas or inert gas. Such combustion chambers operate with very low chemiluminescent emission [16], similar to MTC combustion [14]. However, MTC combustion is free from external and internal recirculation while offering ultra-low NO X emission [17].…”