Abstract
Oxygen-enhanced combustion (OEC) is a useful method for improving the efficiency of thermal plants and for decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Basic and modified burner designs utilizing OEC in the aluminum melting process in a rotary tilting furnace were studied. A combined approach comprising experimental measurement and simulation modeling was adopted aimed at assessing GHG emissions production. Reduction of up to 60% fuel consumption of the total natural gas used in the laboratory-scale furnace was achieved. The optimal oxygen concentration in the oxidizer regarding the amount of total GHG emissions produced per charge expressed as CO2 equivalent was 35% vol. Its further increase led only to marginal fuel savings, while the nitrogen oxide emissions increased rapidly. Using the modified burner along with OEC led to around 10% lower CO2 emissions and around 15% lower total GHG emissions, compared to using a standard air/fuel burner. CFD simulations revealed the reasons for these observations: improved mixing patterns and more uniform temperature field. Modified burner application, moreover, enables furnace productivity to be increased by shortening the charge melting time by up to 16%. The presented findings demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed burner modification and highlight its better energy and environmental performance indicators, while indicating the optimal oxygen enrichment level in terms of GHG emissions for the OEC technology applied to aluminum melting.
Highlights
Global energy and environmental policies push manufacturers towards increasing the efficiency of thermal plants, which reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from technical processes [1,2]
Reflecting the need for better insight into the influence of oxygen-enhanced combustion (OEC) technology application on environmental impacts (GHG emissions) and energy consumption through changes in furnace operation parameters, the present study aims at contributing to the current knowledge in this field by doing the following:
The authors designed and constructed a laboratory-scale tilting rotary furnace and performed combined experimental-modeling analysis of GHG emissions produced during the combustion of natural gas at higher oxygen concentrations in the oxidizer, using basic and modified burner designs
Summary
Global energy and environmental policies push manufacturers towards increasing the efficiency of thermal plants, which reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from technical processes [1,2]. Oxy-combustion technology or combustion employing elevated oxygen concentrations in the oxidizing agent has been proposed as a promising means of achieving this objective [3] This type of combustion, referred to as oxygen-enhanced combustion (OEC), has many benefits including increased processing rates [4], higher heat transfer efficiency [5,6], improved flame characteristics [7], reduced production of GHG emissions [8], reduced equipment cost, and last but not least, improved product quality. Combustion of fossil fuels plays a major role in these applications for process heat provision It is accompanied with the formation of several unwanted products, including GHG emissions. OEC technology is used in secondary aluminum production in rotary tilting furnaces, which process aluminum scraps and dross [15,16]
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