Experimental Analysis of Thermal Efficiency of a Porous/Swirl Burner Applied to Industrial Cooking

Abstract

Objectives: To analyze the thermal performance and emission of a porous media combustion/swirl and a conventional burner applied to industrial cooking through a comparative study. Methods/Statistical Analysis: A porous/swirl burner with a bed of Al2 O3 particles coming from grinding wastes has been tested experimentally, and compared to conventional burner from Industrial cooking process. Thermal efficiency of the burner has been evaluated according with specifications of standard NTC 5306. After combustion stability is achieved, a measured quantity of water is heated up and the temperature is measured. The test ends when water gets the boiling point. Findings: The results showed that the swirl burner had a stable combustion in a narrow primary equivalence ratio between 1.49 and 1.52. Thermal efficiency in the “radiationconvection” mode of the porous burner was between 15.7 and 23.6%, which are lower than the average thermal efficiency of the conventional free-flame burner, while the swirl burner working independently could improve the thermal efficiency between 3 and 5% in respect of the conventional free-flame burner. Application/Improvements: This lower thermal efficiency prevents the potential use in industrial application of the porous/swirl burner and further work is necessary to improve the thermal efficiency of the coupled system. Keywords: Combustion Stability, Industrial Cooking, Porous Burner, Swirl Burner, Thermal Efficiency