Name:3/C Manuel, Jade Carlo B.

Year/Section: S2 Alpha Mar-E Date: April 15 ,2020

Research Work: Steam Boiler fuel atomization and combustion (Week 12)
1. Explains the thorough and rapid mixing of atomized fuel and combustion air is
important.

On the mixing process of methane-air in rectangular burners. It is important to

define the initial distribution of gas within the airflow in order to maintain conditions
necessary for release and heat exchange on the surfaces of burners. This problem forms
the basis for the design of burners, and must be resolved by means of calculating the
distribution system for gas in the burner. An algorithm has been derived for the
calculation of the depth of penetration of the gas jets in the airflow. Dependencies among
the geometric parameters of the burner and the gas distribution system

2. Explains the importance of atomization when it is required to mix a liquid fuel with
air prior to combustion
For combustion to take place Fuel Atomization is necessary. Fuel atomization
means breaking the fuel into small particles which can further be mixed / emulsified with
the air in order to ensure proper Air-Fuel Ratio for combustion. See, the smaller the fuel
droplets, the greater the surface area for a given amount of discharged fuel. Thus, there is
more exposure to heat so the phase change to a vapor becomes greatly improved. An easy
way to think about this would be a block of ice on a hot summer day and an equal mass
of shaved ice spread out on the same surface. The shaved ice has a greater surface area
and will melt quicker than the block. As the engine speed increases, the fuel and air
velocity through the intake manifold also goes higher, and more of the fuel is atomized
than would be at low speeds.

3. Explain theoretical and actual air/fuel ratio for a typical boiler fuel allowing for
normal excess air in the furnace of steam boiler

Stable combustion conditions requires right amounts of fuels and oxygen. The combustion
products are heat energy, carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrogen, and other gases (excluding
oxygen). In theory there is a specific amount of oxygen needed to completely burn a given
amount of fuel. In practice, burning conditions are never ideal.

Therefore, in practice more air than ideal must be supplied to burn all fuel completely.
The amount of air more than the theoretical requirement is referred to as excess air.

Power plant boilers normally run about 10 to 20 percent excess air. Natural gas-fired
boilers may run as low as 5 percent excess air. Pulverized coal-fired boilers may run
with 20 percent excess air. Gas turbines runs very lean with up to 300 percent excess air.
 4. Explain the excess of air must be kept to a minimum, consistent with good
combustion

Operating your boiler with an optimum amount of excess air will minimize heat
loss up the stack and improve combustion efficiency. Combustion efficiency is a measure
of how effectively the heat content of a fuel is transferred into usable heat. The stack
temperature and flue gas oxygen (or carbon dioxide) concentrations are primary
indicators of combustion efficiency. Given complete mixing, a precise or stoichiometric
amount of air is required to completely react with a given quantity of fuel. In practice,
combustion conditions are never ideal, and additional or “excess” air must be supplied to
completely burn the fuel.
5. Explain atomization is produced by the fuel, at high pressure, passing through a
small orifice in the burner nozzle

The burner is universally used except in domestic or low-pressure service.

Good atomization results when oil under high pressure (to 300 psi) passes through a small
orifice and emerges as a conical mist. The orifice atomizing the fuel is often aided by a slotted
disk that whirls the oil before it enters the nozzle.

6. Explains why the viscosity of a fuel is important in its atomization and how the
viscosity of a liquid fuel can be controlled by varying its temperature.
Controlling the viscosity of fuel oil is an important aspect of an efficient combustion. A
high viscosity fuel oil leads to improper atomisation which in turn leads to incomplete
combustion.High viscosity fuel prevents correct atomisation,which takes place in the fuel
injectors. An efficient atomisation is the basic need for the healthy mixing of fuel and heated
air, without which, no ignition or combustion can be derived. Thus, it is absolutely important
to set the viscosity value in the right range.

Viscosity of high fuel oils can be reduced by raising its temperature with the help of a
fuel oil heater. This can be done by using either, automatically regulated heaters in order to
maintain a constant temperature or by using a manual control which can be adjusted
according to the requirement.

7. Describe different type of burner and the attention required by burner atomizer tips

Gas Burner:
Gas burners can be pre-mix and post-mix technique. Post-mix means gas and oil combines after
they enter the furnace, premix burners are vice-versa.

Oil Burners:
Fuel oil is injected into the burner using oil guns with burner tip at the end. The design and
arrangement of the tip and the gun depend on the type of atomization system. There are two
types of Oil burners.

Vapourising burner:
In the vaporization burners, the volatile fuel passes at low pressure through a tube adjacent to the
flame, where the vaporization takes place. The vapour stream issues out of an orifice at a high
velocity and entrains primary air.

Atomizing burner:
Atomizing burners have an arrangement for the atomization of liquid fuels before the actual
combustion takes place. For atomization, initially, a jet or a thin film of liquid is obtained and
allowed to emerge into the open atmosphere at a suitable velocity.

8. Describes a combustion air register, identifying swirl vanes, flame stabilizer, air
flow control valves, and burner.

The high-pressure fuel is supplied to a burner which it leaves as an atomised spray . The
burner also rotates the fuel droplets by the use of a swirl plate. A rotating cone of tiny oil
droplets thus leaves the burner and passes into the furnace. Various designs of burner exist, the
one just described being known as a 'pressure jet burner' .

The 'rotating cup burner' atomises and swirls the fuel by throwing it off the edge of a
rotating tapered cup. The 'steam blast jet burner', atomises and swirls the fuel by spraying it into
a high-velocity jet of steam. The steam is supplied down a central inner barrel in the burner.

The air register is a collection of flaps, vanes, etc., which surrounds each burner and is
fitted between the boiler casings. The register provides an entry section through which air is
admitted from the windbox. Air shut-off is achieved by means of a sliding sleeve or check. Air
flows through parallel to the burner, and a swirler provides it with a rotating motion. The air is
swirled in an opposite direction to the fuel to ensure adequate mixing . High-pressure, high
output marine watertube boilers are roof fired . This enables a long flame path and even heat
transfer throughout the furnace. The fuel entering the furnace must be initially ignited in order to
burn.

9. Explain the ranges of percentages of CO2 which indicate good combustion, poor
combustion, and bad combustion

Complete combustion occurs when 100% of the energy in the fuel is extracted. It is
important to strive for complete combustion to preserve fuel and improve the cost efficiency of
the combustion process. There must be enough air in the combustion chamber for complete
combustion to occur. The addition of excess air greatly lowers the formation of CO (carbon
monoxide) by allowing CO to react with O2. The less CO remaining in the flue gas, the closer to
complete combustion the reaction becomes. This is because the toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO)
still contains a very significant amount of energy that should be completely burned.

10. Describes furnace conditions which indicate good combustion.

Good combustion is very rapid, has a high flame temperature, and is very turbulent.
Turbulence is a key factor in boiler furnace combustion. If the turbulence is high, the mixing of
the oxygen and fuel will be good, therefore, combustion will occur very rapidly and the result
will be a high flame temperature