Emission characteristics of marine furnaces burned at varying inlet air temperatures and humidity

Abstract

Marine power plants are frequently operated under varying atmospheric air temperature and humidity conditions. The effects of inlet air temperatures and humidity of marine furnaces such as incinerators and boilers thus attract much research interest. An industrial furnace incorporated with an automatic burner was employed to experimentally investigate the influences of the inlet air temperature and humidity on the emission characteristics. The inlet air humidity and temperature were adjusted using an air-conditioning machine to preset values before being admitted into the burner. ASTM No. 2D diesel oil was atomized, mixed with the inlet air and burned inside the industrial furnace. Eight small rectangular slots were cut on the upper side of the furnace to allow gas analyzer and thermocouple probes to be inserted into the furnace center to measure the axial variations in the gas temperature, burning efficiency and burning gas compositions such as NO x, SO 2, CO. The experimental results show that the O 2 and NOx emission concentrations decreased while the CO 2 emission concentration and burning efficiency increased with either increasing inlet air humidity or temperature.