Numerical study for the combustion analysis of wood volatiles in porous radiant burner for the application of biomass cooking stove

Abstract

This article presents a computational study of wood volatiles combustion in a two-layer porous radiant burner (PRB) at different power inputs (1–3 kW) and porosity ranges from 0.7 to 0.9 respectively. A 2-D computational model is designed to numerically solve the combustion of wood-volatiles and air. A finite volume technique is utilized to solve governing equations including; continuity equation, momentum equation, species transport equation, radiative transport equation, and gas and solid phases energy equations. The utilized model is validated with previous literature for a two-layer porous radiant burner and the deviation of comparison is found within the acceptable range. The results reveal that the higher temperature was found in the central part of the burner and the minimum at the circumference. The longitudinal temperature distribution along the central line ruled out the occurrence of flashbacks. Moreover, the transport species contours reveal that the maximum combustion reactions occur in the upper layer of the porous zone. Further, the radiation efficiency decreases with input power and increases with porosity. The maximum value of radiation efficiency is found 36% at 1 kW and porosity of 0.9. while the minimum is 26% found at 3 kW and porosity of 0.7. The overall assessment showed that the PRB-based cooking stove is capable for providing a desired temperature range and efficient radiation efficiency in the range of 1–3 kW of power input.