{"title":"A new low NOx emission technique for NH3/H2 blends in a flameless combustor through offset injection","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.joei.2024.101864","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The application of ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) as a possible future fuel presents a plausible solution for green energy storage. It helps provide a carbon-neutral fuel alternative for industrial power generation and transportation. However, the combustion of NH<sub>3</sub> presents a formidable challenge due to its low reactivity, inadequate flame stability, sluggish flame propagation, and high NO<sub>x</sub> emissions. Consequently, its integration into combustion systems necessitates substantial system and strategy modification to enable its deployment to industrial systems. The current study presents a novel fuel/air injection technique, which emphasizes the high recirculation of hot combustion products and the extended residence time of fuel/air mixtures. A comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation is conducted using a swirl air injection and offset fuel injection to achieve the flameless combustion mode for optimized NH<sub>3</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> fuel blends. A range of mixture conditions (ϕ = 0.5–1.2) and NH<sub>3</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> compositions (50/50–70/30) are experimentally examined. The investigations helped elucidate the effect of residence time and recirculation on NO<sub>x</sub> emissions through kinetic simulations using a reactor network model. Subsequently, 3-D numerical simulations helped identify regions of high recirculation, quantified through reactant dilution ratios and uniform temperature distribution. These aspects are determined using a new parameter, the temperature uniformity index along the axial direction of the combustor. The emissions of NO<sub>x</sub>, unburnt NH<sub>3</sub>, and unburnt H<sub>2</sub> are quantified for different equivalence ratios and NH<sub>3</sub> mole fractions in the fuel mixture. The investigations reveal that NO<sub>x</sub> emissions reached their minimum (450–654 ppm) and (344-211 ppm), when the burner operated at lean (ϕ = 0.5–0.8) and rich (ϕ = 1.0–1.2) conditions, respectively, for 70/30 NH<sub>3</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> blend. The emissions of unburnt NH<sub>3</sub> and H<sub>2</sub> species remain minimal for lean conditions. Both lean and rich operational regimes demonstrated similar or superior emission characteristics in flameless combustion mode when compared to the conventional combustion mode.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":17287,"journal":{"name":"Journal of The Energy Institute","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":5.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of The Energy Institute","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1743967124003428","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The application of ammonia (NH3) as a possible future fuel presents a plausible solution for green energy storage. It helps provide a carbon-neutral fuel alternative for industrial power generation and transportation. However, the combustion of NH3 presents a formidable challenge due to its low reactivity, inadequate flame stability, sluggish flame propagation, and high NOx emissions. Consequently, its integration into combustion systems necessitates substantial system and strategy modification to enable its deployment to industrial systems. The current study presents a novel fuel/air injection technique, which emphasizes the high recirculation of hot combustion products and the extended residence time of fuel/air mixtures. A comprehensive experimental and numerical investigation is conducted using a swirl air injection and offset fuel injection to achieve the flameless combustion mode for optimized NH3/H2 fuel blends. A range of mixture conditions (ϕ = 0.5–1.2) and NH3/H2 compositions (50/50–70/30) are experimentally examined. The investigations helped elucidate the effect of residence time and recirculation on NOx emissions through kinetic simulations using a reactor network model. Subsequently, 3-D numerical simulations helped identify regions of high recirculation, quantified through reactant dilution ratios and uniform temperature distribution. These aspects are determined using a new parameter, the temperature uniformity index along the axial direction of the combustor. The emissions of NOx, unburnt NH3, and unburnt H2 are quantified for different equivalence ratios and NH3 mole fractions in the fuel mixture. The investigations reveal that NOx emissions reached their minimum (450–654 ppm) and (344-211 ppm), when the burner operated at lean (ϕ = 0.5–0.8) and rich (ϕ = 1.0–1.2) conditions, respectively, for 70/30 NH3/H2 blend. The emissions of unburnt NH3 and H2 species remain minimal for lean conditions. Both lean and rich operational regimes demonstrated similar or superior emission characteristics in flameless combustion mode when compared to the conventional combustion mode.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of the Energy Institute provides peer reviewed coverage of original high quality research on energy, engineering and technology.The coverage is broad and the main areas of interest include:
Combustion engineering and associated technologies; process heating; power generation; engines and propulsion; emissions and environmental pollution control; clean coal technologies; carbon abatement technologies
Emissions and environmental pollution control; safety and hazards;
Clean coal technologies; carbon abatement technologies, including carbon capture and storage, CCS;
Petroleum engineering and fuel quality, including storage and transport
Alternative energy sources; biomass utilisation and biomass conversion technologies; energy from waste, incineration and recycling
Energy conversion, energy recovery and energy efficiency; space heating, fuel cells, heat pumps and cooling systems
Energy storage
The journal''s coverage reflects changes in energy technology that result from the transition to more efficient energy production and end use together with reduced carbon emission.