JPS6046323B2 - Hydrocarbon combustion method and device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The use of various amounts and forms of water as an additive to improve the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels and waste gases has been practiced from the beginning.

Such methods have been proposed for various purposes, such as to eliminate unpleasant smoke from refinery waste gas fires and to make domestic oil burner systems more economical to use.

These processes involved adding water to the combustion product as a liquid or vapor and in a very wide range of proportions. Some US patents exemplifying such methods utilize very high levels of water (US Pat. No. 2,104,311) and very low levels of water (US Pat. No. 3,862,819).

One patent discloses mixing water and oil (US Pat. No. 3,706,942) and another discloses the use of water in the form of a steam catalyst, ie, the injection of water as steam. The methods proposed so far are probably of little utility. This is because these methods use too little or too much water. It is certainly conceivable that, when operated at equilibrium, many of the methods described heretofore provide substantial advantages in some combustion characteristics. However, substantial problems arise when using such methods commercially. The high combustion efficiency to be achieved is achieved by using small amounts of secondary air. This means that there is more combustion water in a given volume of flue gas and the dew point becomes undesirably high. At the same time, efficient high temperature processes within the furnace result in highly efficient heat transfer to properly designed furnaces.
This further reduces the amount of waste heat and increases the likelihood that the temperature of the flue gas will fall below its dew point. Even when the dew point is maintained at approximately the lowest practical level,
Temporary fluctuations in ventilation conditions create significant condensation problems in the heat transfer and flue gas treatment sections of the heating system.

A reliable and stable means of operating water-catalyzed combustion processes in a stable manner is needed. flame stability,
Problems related to reignition and also to normal changes in draft or heating load within the furnace must be minimized. All these problems are ideally solved without sacrificing any real combustion efficiency. That is, it is solved by combustion with H2O as a promoter. The main object of the present invention is to provide a method for combustion of hydrocarbon liquids using 11.0 as an accelerator, which has a high flame stability and is extremely efficient.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a method that can be used not only in large industrial heating devices and power plants, but also in small residential devices.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method as described above that does not require the use of supplementary combustion catalysts.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for making the combustion process more stable and more efficient. Another object of this invention is to provide a mixture of water and fuel oil with a dispersion fluid,
In particular, it is intended to assist in emulsifying the fuel mass to be combusted with a gaseous dispersion fluid such as air or water vapor.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the present disclosure. The above object is substantially achieved by the development of the following steps.

(1) emulsifying the liquid hydrocarbon fuel to be burned with a fluid that rapidly expands as the fuel is discharged through the nozzle (i.e., the burner head) into the furnace;

Typically 5 to 15 weight percent water based on the weight of the fuel is actively stirred with the expansion fluid and the fuel to be combusted. These are believed to promote emulsification of the fuel by the expanding fluid. (2) Typical amounts of 5 to 2 volume percent H2O are included in the steam atmosphere in which the emulsified hydrocarbons expand and burn.

This steam-containing atmosphere is provided around or through the burner head, or alternatively,
It is provided by mixing air from a source close to the burner head with H2O contained in a dispersion fluid injected through the burner head. This H
2O can include both water vapor and water used in the emulsification step. This combination of anomalous dispersion of hydrocarbon vapor at the burner head and evaporated water results in
A highly efficient and stable flame is provided. Of particular importance, however, is the ability to provide this flame even when there is little excess oxygen.

Therefore, it is considered that excessive production of SO3 can be substantially avoided. Also, as those skilled in the art will appreciate upon reading this disclosure, such highly efficient combustion minimizes the amount of nitrogen heated, allows for highly efficient heat exchange primarily by radiation, significantly lowers stack temperatures, and minimizes the amount of nitrogen heated. Importantly, it provides a way to improve the stability of the selected flue gas temperature and to further increase its dependence. Of particular importance to the process of this invention is its ability to minimize the formation of nitric oxides. This is clearly based on the reason that the oil and water emulsion allows the water to be present directly at the point of combustion, ie at the stage of flame formation when combustion takes place.
This aspect of the invention provides that, relative to the weight of the fuel being combusted,
It is believed that this is best achieved when the water is within the weight range of about 12 to 25 cents per cent. Furthermore, although nitric oxides are reduced over a wide temperature range, lower temperatures, i.e., from about 142 rc to 1760<0>C, are believed to be the temperatures that best suppress nitric oxides. The reason why this method achieves such great efficiency and stability is not yet clear.

It is conceivable that gaseous substances, such as air or water vapor, are more efficiently emulsified when using an active gas/water/hydrocarbon contacting step, and as a result:
The result is a very well-mixed feed fuel that, as it exits the burner head, is dispersed into moderately sized droplets of moderate velocity, resulting in an unusually rapid burning rate for the fuel mass delivered to the furnace. Moreover, it is achieved efficiently. It is believed that the presence of water vapor in the area where this rapid combustion occurs provides a stabilizing brake on the combustion rate, thereby providing an extremely efficient and practical solution as an atomizing fluid in the burner head. , it is usually convenient to utilize excess gas from the conditioning tank. Usually such superagent gas, whether air or water vapor, picks up some fuel in the conditioning tank. It has been observed that the flames produced using this process most efficiently have a bright edge color, which appears to characterize the more efficient method operated by this invention. .

However, it must be understood that benefits are also obtained at temperatures below the temperature at which green flame is observed. It is desirable to preheat the heavier liquid hydrocarbon fuel.

Generally, there is no need to preheat No. 2 oil or other low viscosity oils under very high temperature conditions. This preheating can be done by mixing a heating fluid, such as steam, used as a dispersion fluid, or by any other known heating means. In certain situations, it may also be advantageous to utilize the inventive method in such a way that certain hydrocarbon fuels are conveyed to the area around the burner head in air containing water vapor.
Typically, the amount of such fuel will be less than the amount that the air itself can support for combustion. However, reducing the amount of hydrocarbons appears to improve combustion quality and stability.
Although this specification and the accompanying drawings illustrate and describe preferred embodiments of the present invention and suggest various alternatives and modifications thereof, these are not intended to be construed as exhaustive, and other modifications and variations are within the scope of the present invention. It should be understood that this can be done with The above suggestions in this text are provided by way of illustration so that the invention and its principles may be better understood as known and that the invention may be modified and carried out in various forms that best suit the circumstances of a particular case. These are the ones selected and described in . As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the apparatus and method of the present invention utilize an oil tank 32 which can typically contain approximately 200 gallons of liquid oil 32.
1 and is incorporated into a typical home heating device 30 equipped with an air hole 33 and a filling pipe 34. The fuel pipe 35 normally includes a power fuel pump 37, a combustion tube 38 and a burner rod 39.
It extends to a conventional oil burner 36 with a The cap 39 discharges atomized fuel 41 in a generally conical flame 42 into a thermostatically induced combustion chamber 43 of a heating device 44 of hot air, hot water, steam or other type.
In this invention, the pressurized tank 45 has valves 46 and 47
is interposed within the liquid fuel pipe 35, so if conventional heating is desired, the part 48 between them is used;
The supplemental heat of this invention is bypassed when needed. Tube section 48 is shown in dotted lines in FIG. The pressure gauge 49 indicates the pressure inside the tank 45, which is relatively low, about 0.36k9/c! It is l. The tank 45 has a top lid 5 that seals around a peripheral flange 52 which is secured to the bottom or base 54 by suitable screw clamps 53.
1. The tank 45 has a liquid fuel inlet 55 and an outlet 57, the inlet 55 being connected to the valve 46 by a conduit 56 to receive oil from the tank 31 and the outlet 57 being connected to the valve 47 by a conduit 58 to receive oil from the tank 45. Oil is distributed to burner 36.

The tank 45 also has a water inlet 59 in the lower part 61 of the tank.
A steam or fume outlet 62 is provided in the upper part of the tank or in the steam chamber 63. Air or steam inlet 64 is connected to a powered air pump 65 to deliver pressurized air into tank 45 to create the desired steam pressure and turbulence therein. This air is emulsified within the oil and acts as a dispersion fluid within the oil. A water supply means 66 is provided comprising a water pipe 67 connected to a pressurized water source, such as a domestic mains 68, the water pipe 67 having a normally closed solenoid valve 69, the valve 69 having a 110 volt connection with its coil. A pair of electrodes 71 and 7 in a circuit containing a current source
2 is opened to introduce water into the lower part 61 of the tank 45 when a signal is received from a suitable level sensing means such as 2.

Float valves, photovoltaic cells, or any other suitable means may be used to maintain a predetermined level of water in tank 45 and create a predetermined thickness of water layer within the tank. All methods are known. The liquid fuel supply means 75 of the present invention includes an oil tank 31, fuel pipes 35 and 36, valves 46 and 47, a liquid inlet 55, a tank 45, a liquid outlet 57, a fuel pipe 58,
A liquid fuel pump 37 and a burner metal 39 are provided.

Automatic liquid fuel level control means 76 are provided in the form of a valve 77 opened and closed by a float 78 which rests on an oil layer 79 in the middle section 81 of the tank 45, the oil layer 79 floating above a water layer 82 in the lower part 61 of the tank 45. I'm reading.

The vaporized fuel forming means 83 includes a bypass or recirculation liquid fuel line 84 .

This pipe 84 is connected to the rear of the fuel pump 37 and to the burner metal 3.
Through a fitting 85 of the fuel pipe 58 in front of the pump, the liquid oil under pressure is passed through a preheating coil or jacket 89 and from them to a porous foam in the lower part 61 of the tank 45, preferably below a predetermined level of the water layer 62. Outlet 87 in the form of a tube
lead to. A heating coil 86 extends through the combustion tube 38 of the burner 36 beyond its end 88, and several spirals extend into the combustion chamber 43.
The truncated conical flame 42 is preferably located within the passageway of the inner truncated conical flame 42. Thus, each time the temperature and other controls of oil burner 36 close this circuit and energize pump 37, pressurized liquid fuel is delivered to burner fuel 39, atomized, ignited and combusted. At the same time, some of the pressurized liquid fuel is heated in the coil 86 and sent to the outlet 87, creating a heated oil bubble 89 that rises through the water layer 82 and the liquid oil layer 79 into the pressurized tank. A thick steam or mist 91 is formed in the upper part of 45 or in the steam chamber 63. The concentrated steam supply means 92 of the present invention includes a steam outlet 62 of the tank 45 and a steam conduit 93 that passes through the steam burner rotor 94.
9 and below its level in the path of the flame 42.

Steam 91 is thus ignited by flame 42, supplementing the heat produced by the burner and forming flame pattern 95, shown schematically in FIG. A steam pressure of about 0.36 kg/d is created in the upper part of the tank 45 by a powered air pump 65, which is in a circuit with the fuel pump 37 and during each period when the fuel pump is energized by the thermal control device. It is becoming more and more popular.

As shown, air pump 65 can draw fumes from the top of fuel tank 31 through inlet conduit 96, or fresh ambient air can be drawn from the atmosphere through two-way valve 98. However, as shown by the dotted line, the tank air hole 33 is sealed and the pump 65 sucks fresh air from the inlet 101 and sends the air to the porous foam tube 102, thereby creating a dense smoke 103 that is pressurized in the upper part 97. Preferably, pressurized fume 103 is directed through pipe 96 to the top of tank 45 and from there to steam burner rotor 94 . As shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the steam burner metal 94 is
Threaded nipple 10 with at least one, preferably three orifices 105 as shown in FIG.
It is best to take the form 4.

A preferred location for base 94 is shown in FIG. The following example is implemented in a subsidy used by a large utility to generate steam for a power plant.

The furnace, commonly called a "boiler", has a heating surface of 1650 rT1 and is designed to produce approximately 18160 kg to 37320 kg of saturated steam at 17.5 k9/d. It has 240 tubes ( Diameter 5.08c
m, wall pressure 0.38c! n) and 448 in the convection part.
Equipped with a tube of similar size to the book. As shown schematically in FIG. 6, the furnace is equipped with a ignition head 204 and a fuel conditioning system 200.

Fuel is supplied with No. 2 oil at a rate of 300 gallons per hour.

Water vapor is 7k9/c! t, at a rate compatible with already known conventional steam atomization operations. Air is added to the burner while swirling around the burner head in an amount approximately 1 percent greater than that required to achieve 100 percent stoichiometric combustion of the fuel. The next example is about 1 hourly
8160k9 is illustrative of a furnace operated to produce steam.

6, fuel is piped through conduit 202 to the conditioning section 209 of conditioning device 200, where the fuel is preheated (and discussed below) before being conveyed through conduit 226 to the ignition head or nozzle 204. may be adjusted in other ways). The water vapor passes through conduit 206 and enters the outer conditioning area 203 of conditioning device 200 where it is mixed with some water and oil.

The vapor thus "conditioned" or enriched is then routed to nozzle 204 and nozzle conduit 210 where it is combined with and mixed with fuel within integrator section 212. From there, the mixture passes through nozzle conduit 214. , combustion chamber 21
Atomize and disperse within 8 minutes. It can be seen that oil is supplied via the oil supply pipe 220 to the outer conditioning area 203 of the conditioning device 200 and is mixed there with water vapor.

Water is likewise supplied through water supply pipe 222. This mixing action of steam, water, and oil adds a fine, highly dispersed amount of oil to the steam, which acts as a dispersion fluid. The amount of oil added in this way is usually small, less than 1 percent of the total amount of hydrocarbon fuel sent into the furnace, and the resulting dispersion fluid does not burn itself; It is believed to promote combustion stability and efficiency of the process. Water is added at a rate of about 5 to 8 weight percent of the fuel oil. This amount of water is a suitable amount to facilitate emulsification of oil, steam, and water that is routed through the fuel conduit to the burner head. Excess steam, including some hydrocarbons, is sent through a steam conduit and used as fog gas. Approximately 60-80% of this water is added to the oil in inner vessel 209 via conduit 222A.
The remaining water vapor is supplied via conduit 222 to jacket section 2.
Added to 03. Similarly, water vapor is added to the oil and water in the inner container 209 through conduit 220A to assist in forming the desired oil mixture emulsified by the water vapor, which is conveyed to burner head 204 through conduit 226. When the water vapor emulsified hydrocarbons are passed from the higher pressure zone to the burner head and then to the furnace section or combustion chamber 218, this fluid rapidly expands and disperses the supplied oil-containing fuel. The use of a dispersion gas containing H2O creates an extremely flammable atmosphere. The emulsified hydrocarbon is instantaneously dispersed and burned in this atmosphere. As shown in the examples above, a relatively small amount of oil pre-existing in the dispersion gas containing H2O appears to significantly improve combustion properties.

As a result of this combustion, a temperature of approximately 1649°C is achieved.

The efficiency of this combustion is approximately 90/g cent. Approximately 176
Temperatures of 0'C and combustion efficiencies approaching 100 percent can be achieved in many installations by further reducing oxygen. It is to be understood that the above description is given by way of example only.

Continued operation of the process at elevated temperatures should not be undertaken unless the special boiler or furnace has been carefully designed to be capable of withstanding the temperatures inherent in the process.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the fuel regulating device of the present invention, and FIG.
The figure is a side view of a residential oil burner device and the device of the present invention connected thereto, with various parts removed and shown in a half sectional view for clarity. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial side view of the ignition device of the present invention,
4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a side view in half section of the steam burner shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use of steam as an emulsifying fluid within the process of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a drawing showing the surface of the nozzle of FIG. 6 facing the combustion chamber. 30...Home heating device, 31...Oil tank, 32...Liquid oil, 33...Air hole, 34...Filling pipe , 35... fuel pipe, 36... oil burner, 37... power fuel pump, 38...
...Cannon barrel, 39...Bernaro gold, 41...
...Atomized fuel, 42...Conical flame, 43.
... Combustion chamber, 44 ... Heating device, 45.
...pressurized tank, 46,47...valve, 4
8... Pipe section, 49... Pressure gauge, 51...
...Top cover, 52...One periphery flange, 53...
... Clamp, 54 ... Base, 55 ...
Liquid fuel inlet, 56... conduit, 57...
・Liquid fuel outlet, 58... conduit, 59...
...Water inlet, 61...Bottom of tank, 62...
...Steam outlet, 63...Steam room, 64...
...Air inlet, 65...Power air pump, 67
...Water pipe, 68...Household mains, 69.
... Solenoid valve, 71, 72 ... Electrode,
75...Liquid fuel source means, 76...Automatic liquid fuel control means, 77...Valve, 78...
Float, 79...oil layer, 81...tank intermediate layer, 82...water layer, 83...vaporized fuel forming means, 84...liquid fuel pipe , 85...
...Joint, 86...Jacket, 87...
...Exit, 89... Heating foam, 91...
Oil-rich steam, 92... Oil-rich steam supply means, 93... Steam conduit, 94...
Steam burner cap, 95...Flame shape, 96...
...Inflow pipe, 97 ...Tank top, 98
...Two-way valve, 101...Inlet, 102
... Porous foam tube, 103 ... Oily fume, 104 ... Threaded nipple, 105 ...
・Orifice, 200...Fuel adjustment device, 20
2...Conduit, 203...Outer adjustment device, 204...Ignition head, 209...
Regulation area, 210... Nozzle conduit, 212...
... Integrator part, 214 ... Nozzle conduit, 218 ... Combustion chamber, 220 ...
... Oil supply pipe, 222 ... Water supply pipe, 226 ...
····conduit.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A method of burning liquid hydrocarbons at 1427°C to 1760°C in a combustion chamber, comprising: (i) emulsifying the hydrocarbons with water and a gaseous dispersion fluid to form a fuel emulsion; ii) A method for combustion of liquid hydrocarbons, characterized in that the emulsion is fed under high pressure to a burner head and placed in a furnace at low pressure, such that the dispersion fluid expands and disperses the fuel emulsion. 2. The fuel emulsion is dispersed in a water-steam-entrained atmosphere, where the emulsion is dispersed and the liquid hydrocarbon is combusted.
The method described in section. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispersion fluid is air. 4. The method of claim 2, wherein said water-steam-entrained atmosphere contains 3 to 13 percent water vapor. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispersion fluid is water vapor. 6 the emulsion is in intimate contact with some steam, water and a small portion of the fuel in a conditioning zone, mixing the inflow from the conditioning zone with the fuel and introducing the mixture thus obtained into the burner head; 2. A method according to claim 1, comprising the step of providing. 7 The fuel burner includes a liquid fuel tank, a heating device including a combustion chamber, a liquid fuel pump, and an atomized fuel burner cap in the combustion chamber, the pump sending fuel from the tank to the cap. In a combustion apparatus configured as follows: a pressurized tank having a liquid fuel inlet, a liquid fuel outlet, a water inlet, and a steam outlet at an upper part, the water inlet being connected to a water source and filling the lower part of the tank with water. automatic water level control means for maintaining said water at a predetermined level in said pressurized tank; and said liquid fuel inlet coupled to said fuel tank and said liquid fuel outlet coupled to said pump and mouthpiece. liquid fuel supply means for filling an intermediate portion of the pressurized tank with liquid fuel floating on the water; automatic liquid fuel level control means for maintaining the liquid fuel at a predetermined level; vaporized fuel forming means comprising a liquid fuel pipe forward of the mouthpiece and leading to said liquid fuel supply means, said pipe comprising a coil in a flame passage therein within said combustion chamber; a perforated foam tube below the level of the water in the tank to create liquid fuel bubbles that rise through the water and the oil, forming a thick vapor at the top of the tank; and Concentrated steam supply means comprising a steam mouthpiece in the combustion chamber, a steam conduit connecting the mouthpiece to a steam outlet of the pressurized tank, and an air pressure supply means for maintaining a predetermined pressure in the pressurized tank. The combustion device comprising: