Understanding of MILD Combustion Characteristics of NH3 Air Flames in N2 And H2O Steam Diluted Environment at Atmospheric Pressure

Abstract

Ammonia is becoming increasingly popular as a carbon-neutral fuel with zero carbon dioxide emissions. However, a significant hurdle lies in its combustion, which leads to substantial emissions of NOx. The current research involves conducting a chemical kinetic investigation to examine the characteristics of Intense Low oxygen Dilution (MILD) or Moderate combustion in ammonia (NH3)/air flames. This study is carried out under specific conditions, such as oxygen concentrations ranging from 11to 23%, premixed reactant temperatures between 1300 and 1700 K, and a pressure of one atmosphere. The study focuses on investigating the combustion characteristics of MILD using dilution with H2O and N2.With the rise in the inlet temperature of the premixed reactant, the peak temperature of the flame also rises. Moreover, flames diluted with H2O exhibit lower peak temperatures compared to flames diluted with N2.Flames diluted with H2O result in lower NOx emissions compared to flames diluted with N2. Additionally, for N2diluted flames, the exit NOx emissions rise as the oxygen concentration increases.Despite this, NOx emissions from H2Odiluted flames demonstrate non-monotonic behaviour.This means that the exit NOx increases initially as the oxygen concentration reaches 21%, but then begins to decrease. In contrast to N2and H2Odiluted flames exhibits a wider regime of no-ignition.Moreover, the rise in peak temperature in H2Odiluted flames is less apparent than in N2diluted flames, corresponding to broader ranges MILD combustion ranges.Furthermore, to attain MILD combustion in H2O diluted flames at a specific O2 concentration, the temperature of reactant needs to be higher than that required for N2diluted flames.