Screening non-noble metal oxides to boost the low-temperature combustion of polyethylene waste in air

Globally,the efficient utilization of polymer wastes is one of the most important issues for current sustainable development topics.Herein,a green and efficient low-temperature combustion approach is proposed to deal with polymer wastes and recover heat energy,simultaneously alleviating the environment and energy crisis.Non-noble metal oxides(Al_(2)O_(3),Fe_(2)O_(3),NiO_(2),ZrO_(2),La_(2)O_(3)and CeO_(2)) were prepared,characterized and screened to boost the low-temperature combustion of polyethylene waste at 300℃ in air.The mass change,heat release and CO_(x) formation were studied in details and employed to evaluate the combustion rate and efficiency.It was found that CeO_(2)significantly enhanced the combustion rate and efficiency,which was respectively 2 and 7 times that of non-catalytic case.An interesting phenomenon was observed that the catalytic performance of CeO_(2) in polyethylene low-temperature combustion was significantly improved by the 7-day storage in the room environment or water treatment.XPS analysis confirmed the co-existence of Ce^(3+) and Ce^(4+) in CeO_(2),and the 7-day storage and water treatment promoted the amount of Ce^(3+),which facilitated the formation of the oxygen vacancies.That may be the reason why CeO_(2) exhibited excellent catalytic performance in polyethylene low-temperature combustion.

Numerical Simulation of Flameless Premixed Combustion with an Annular Nozzle in a Recuperative Furnace

This paper reports an investigation of Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD)on the influence of injection momentum rate of premixed air and fuel on the flameless Moderate or Intense Low oxygen Dilution(MILD) combustion in a recuperative furnace.Details of the furnace flow velocity,temperature,O2,CO2 and NOx concentrations are provided.Results obtained suggest that the flue gas recirculation plays a vital role in establishing the premixed MILD combustion.It is also revealed that there is a critical momentum rate of the fuel-air mixture below which MILD combustion does not occur.Moreover,the momentum rate appears to have less significant influence on conventional global combustion than on MILD combustion.

Characterization of Pr-CeO_2 Nano-crystallites Prepared by Low-temperature Combustion&Hydrothermal Synthesis

Pr-CeO2 Nano-crystalline red pigments were prepared by low-temperature combustion with a later hydrothermal treatment using Ce（NO3）3·6H2O and Pr6O11 as raw materials. The phase composition, coloring mechanism and morphology of pigments were analyzed by XRD, SEM, EDS and XPS. Results showed that Pr-CeO2 solid solution with a fluorite structure was obtained by the diffusion of Pr^＋3 into CeO2 crystal lattice during the synthesis process. XPS analysis indicated that Pr^＋3 substitutes Ce^＋4 in CeO2 and is compensated by oxygen vacancies. Compared with low-temperature combustion synthesis, the Pr-CeO2 pigments prepared with a subsequent hydrothermal treatment have an average grain size of about 16.70 nm, and the crystallinity and red tonality are improved.

Large eddy simulation of turbulent premixed and stratified combustion using flame surface density model coupled with tabulation method

Large eddy simulations(LESs) are performed to investigate the Cambridge premixed and stratified flames, SwB1 and SwB5, respectively. The flame surface density(FSD) model incorporated with two different wrinkling factor models, i.e., the Muppala and Charlette2 wrinkling factor models, is used to describe combustion/turbulence interaction, and the flamelet generated manifolds(FGM) method is employed to determine major scalars. This coupled sub-grid scale(SGS) combustion model is named as the FSD-FGM model. The FGM method can provide the detailed species in the flame which cannot be obtained from the origin FSD model. The LES results show that the FSD-FGM model has the ability of describing flame propagation, especially for stratified flames. The Charlette2 wrinkling factor model performs better than the Muppala wrinkling factor model in predicting the flame surface area change by the turbulence.The combustion characteristics are analyzed in detail by the flame index and probability distributions of the equivalence ratio and the orientation angle, which confirms that for the investigated stratified flame, the dominant combustion modes in the upstream and downstream regions are the premixed mode and the back-supported mode, respectively.

Experimental Investigation of Flame Structure and Combustion Limit During Premixed Methane/Air Jet Flame and Sidewall Interaction

The effects of inlet gas parameters and sloping sidewall angle on the flame structure and combustion limit with and without sidewall were experimentally investigated.Flame height and impact angle were obtained by chemiluminescence intensity analysis of CH*distribution.First,the combustion characteristics of flame with and without sidewall at different equivalence ratios were explored;then,the influence of Reynolds number and inlet gas temperature on flame structure and combustion limit of v-shaped flame with sidewall were analyzed,and the results with sidewall were compared with those without sidewall.Finally,the variation trend of flame parameters with different sloping sidewall angles was analyzed.The experimental results show that the existence of sidewall makes flame shape change from“M-shaped”to“inverted N-shaped”,and conical shape to trapezoidal shape.The inhibition effect of sidewall on flame stretching downstream is strengthened with the increase in Reynolds number;but as the temperature of the inlet gas increases,the inhibitory effect is obviously weakened.When sloping sidewall angle decreases from 90°to 55°at 5°intervals,flame height and impact angle of v-shaped flame reach the extreme value whenβ=80°.Compared with the case without sidewall,the range of v-shaped flame with sidewall has no obvious trend of broadening or shrinking when inlet gas temperature is increased;however,as sloping sidewall angle decreases,the range of the v-shaped flame shrinks obviously and flammability limit increases significantly.

Molecular composition of low-temperature oxidation products of the heavy oil

Low-temperature oxidation(LTO)is the main reaction that affects fuel formation in the in-situ combustion process,which has important significance for the subsequent combustion propulsion and the successful extraction of crude oil.In this study,heavy oil was subjected to LTO reactions at different temperatures.Three types of reaction products with varying oxidation depths were characterized in terms of the number of oxygen atoms and the polarity of the molecule to reveal the low-temperature oxidation process of the heavy oil.Ketone compounds and acid polyoxides in the oil phase and deep oxidation products with a higher number of oxygen atoms in the coke were identified with increasing oxidation depth.The experimental results showed that the oxidation reaction of the heavy oil changed from kinetic-controlled to diffusion-controlled in the open oxidation system of the heavy oil as the oxidation depth increased.The oxidation reaction of the oil phase reached a maximum and stable value in oxygen content.The molecular compositions of the ketone compound and acid polyoxide did not change significantly with further increase in reaction temperature.The molecular compositions of the deep oxidation products with a higher number of oxygen atoms in the coke phase changed significantly.The coke precursor molecules with a lower oxygen content and condensation degree participated in the coke formation,and the oxidation reaction pathway and the complexity of the oxidation product component also increased.

Flow characterization and dilution effects of N_2 and CO_2 on premixed CH_4/air flames in a swirl-stabilized combustor

Numerically-aided experimental studies are conducted on a swirl-stabilized combustor to investigate the dilution effects on flame stability, flame structure, and pollutant emissions of premixed CH4/air flames. Our goal is to provide a systematic assessment on combustion characteristics in diluted regimes for its application to environmentally-friendly approaches such as biogas combustion and exhanst-gas recirculation technology. Two main diluting species, N2 and CO2, are tested at various dilution rates. The results obtained by means of optical diagnostics show that five main flame regimes can be observed for Nz-diluted flames by changing excess air and dilution rate. CO2-diluted flames follow the same pattern evolution except that all the domains are shifted to lower excess air. Both N2 and CO2 dilution affect the lean blow- out （LBO） limits negatively. This behavior can be counter-balanced by reactant preheating which is able to broaden the flammability domain of the diluted flames. Flame reactivity is degraded by increasing dilution rate. Meanwhile, flames are thickened in the presence of both diluting species. NOx emissions are significantly reduced with dilution and proved to be relevant to flame stability diagrams： slight augmentation in NOx emission profiles is related to transitional flame states where instability occurs. Although dilution results in increase in CO emissions at certain levels, optimal dilution rates can still be proposed to achieve an ideal compromise.

Improved combustion stability of biogas at different CO_(2) concentrations using inhomogeneous partially premixed stratified flames

Biogas is a renewable and clean energy source that plays an important role in the current environment of lowcarbon transition.If high-content CO_(2) in biogas can be separated,transformed,and utilized,it not only realizes high-value utilization of biogas but also promotes carbon reduction in the biogas field.To improve the combustion stability of biogas,an inhomogeneous,partially premixed stratified(IPPS)combustion model was adopted in this study.The thermal flame structure and stability were investigated for a wide range of mixture inhomogeneities,turbulence levels,CO_(2) concentrations,air-to-fuel velocity ratios,and combustion energies in a concentric flow slot burner(CFSB).A fine-wire thermocouple is used to resolve the thermal flame structure.The flame size was reduced by increasing the CO_(2) concentration and the flames became lighter blue.The flame temperature also decreased with increase in CO_(2) concentration.Flame stability was reduced by increasing the CO_(2) concentration.However,at a certain level of mixture inhomogeneity,the concentration of CO_(2) in the IPPS mode did not affect the stability.Accordingly,the IPPS mode of combustion should be suitable for the combustion and stabilization of biogas.This should support the design of highly stabilized biogas turbulent flames independent of CO_(2) concentration.The data show that the lower stability conditions are partially due to the change in fuel combustion energy,which is characterized by the Wobbe index(WI).In addition,at a certain level of mixture inhomogeneity,the effect of the WI on flame stability becomes dominant.

Mitigation of Combustion Instability and NO_(x)Emissions by Microjets in Lean Premixed Flames with Different Swirl Numbers

Swirl combustion serves as a helpful flame stabilization method,which also affects the combustion and emission characteristics.This article experimentally investigated the effects of CO_(2)microjets on combustion instability and NO_(x)emissions in lean premixed flames with different swirl numbers.The microjets’control feasibility was examined from three variables of CO_(2)jet flow rate,thermal power,and swirl angles.Results indicate that microjets can mitigate the combustion instability and NO_(x)emissions in lean premixed burners with different swirl numbers and thermal power.Still,the damping effect of microjets in low swirl intensity is better than that in high swirl intensity.The damping ratio of pressure amplitude can reach the maximum of 98%,and NO_(x)emissions can realize the maximum reduction of 10.1×10^(−6)at the swirl angle of 30°.Besides,the flame macrostructure switches from an inverted cone shape to a petal shape,and the flame length reduction at low swirl intensity is higher than that of high swirl intensity.This research clarified the control differences of mitigation of combustion instability and NO_(x)emissions by microjets in lean premixed flames with different swirl numbers,contributing to the optimization of microjets control and the construction of high-performance burners.

The Effect of Swirl Intensity on the Flow Behavior and Combustion Characteristics of a Lean Propane-Air Flame

The effect of swirl number(Sn)on the flow behavior and combustion characteristics of a lean premixed propane FlameФ=0.5 in a swirl burner configuration was numerically verified in this study.Two-dimensional numerical simulations were performed using ANSYS-Fluent software.For turbulence closure,a standard K-εturbulence model was applied.The turbulence-chemistry interaction scheme was modeled using the Finite Rate-Eddy Dissipation hybrid model(FR/EDM)with a reduced three-step reaction mechanism.The P1 radiation model was used for the flame radiation inside the combustion chamber.Four different swirl numbers were selected(0,0.72,1.05,and 1.4)corresponding to different angles(0°,39°,50°,and 57.8°).The results show that the predicted model agrees very well with the experimental data,especially with respect to the axial and radial velocity and temperature profiles.An outer recirculation zone(ORZ)is present in the combustor corner at Sn=0 and an inner recirculation zone(IRZ)appears at the combustor centerline inlet at a critical Sn=0.72.When the Sn reaches an excessive value,the IRZ moves toward the premixing tube,leading to a flame flashback.The flame structure and its length are strongly affected by changes in the Sn as well as the formation of NOx and CO at the combustor exit.

The Feasibility of Applying AC Driven Low-Temperature Plasma for Multi-Cycle Detonation Initiation

Ignition is a key system in pulse detonation engines （PDE）. As advanced ignition methods, nanosecond pulse discharge low-temperature plasma ignition is used in some combustion systems, and continuous alternating current （AC） driven low-temperature plasma using dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） is used for the combustion assistant. However, continuous AC driven plasmas cannot be used for ignition in pulse detonation engines. In this paper, experimental and numerical studies of pneumatic valve PDE using an AC driven low-temperature plasma igniter were described. The pneumatic valve was jointly designed with the low-temperature plasma igniter, and the numerical simulation of the cold-state flow field in the pneumatic valve showed that a complex flow in the discharge area, along with low speed, was beneficial for successful ignition. In the experiments ethylene was used as the fuel and air as oxidizing agent, ignition by an AC driven low-temperature plasma achieved multi-cycle intermittent detonation combustion on a PDE, the working frequency of the PDE reached 15 Hz and the peak pressure of the detonation wave was approximately 2.0 MPa. The experimental verifications of the feasibility in PDE ignition expanded the application field of AC driven low-temperature plasma.

Theoretical Analysis and Derivation of Combustion Wave Parameters

Theoretical relations of pressure,density,velocity,temperature and Mach number of combustion waves are built. The parameters’ curves with different combustion energy are illustrated in which four zones are pointed out to represent different combustion states. The expressions and curves of parameters are important to analyze the trends of combustion waves,and to determine conditions on which detonation waves or deflagration waves occur.

Numerical investigation of optimal geometry parameters for ejectors of premixed burner

An ejector of low NOx burner was designed for a gas instantaneous water heater in this work. The flowing and mixing process of the ejector was investigated by computational fluid dynamics(CFD) approach. A comprehensive study was conducted to understand the effects of the geometrical parameters on the static pressure of air and methane, and mole fraction uniformity of methane at the outlet of ejector. The distribution chamber was applied to balance the pressure and improve the mixing process of methane and air in front of the fire hole. A distribution orifice plate with seven distribution orifices was introduced at the outlet of the ejector to improve the flow organization. It is found that the nozzle exit position of 5 mm and nozzle diameter d >1.3 mm should be used to improve the flow organization and realize the well premixed combustion for this designed ejector.

Combustion characteristics of low concentration coal mine methane in divergent porous media burner

Low-concentration methane(LCM) has been one of the biggest difficulties in using coal mine methane.And previous studies found that premixed combustion in porous media is an effective method of low calorific gas utilization. This paper studied the combustion of LCM in a divergent porous medium burner(DPMB) by using computational fluid dynamics(CFD), and investigated the effect of gas initial temperature on combustion characteristic, the distribution of temperature and pollutant at different equivalence ratios in detail. Besides, the comparison of divergent and cylindrical burners was also performed in this paper. The results show that: the peak temperature in DPMB increases as the increasing of equivalence ratio, which is also suitable for the outlet NO discharge; the linear correlation is also discovered between peak temperature and equivalence ratios; NO emission at the initial temperature of 525 K is 5.64 times,larger than NO emission at the initial temperature of 300 K. Thus, it is preferable to balance the effect of thermal efficiency and environment simultaneously when determining the optimal initial temperature range. The working parameter limits of divergent burner are wider than that of cylindrical one which contributes to reducing the influence of LCM concentration and volume fluctuation on combustion.

Experimental research on spray and combustion characteristics of the third generation conical spray

A new generation conical spray system for conventional diesel engines or premixed combustion diesel engines is introduced. By means of oriented impingement method, flexible spray penetration in design is realized. High-speed photograph was used to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics of the new spray for cases of different impingement angles and needle valve opening pressures. The results show that, by applying spray impingement orientation, fuel jets spread along the cone surface as shape of sectors, so the dispersion of jets is increased obviously. Changing on impingement angle leads to variation of penetration, which is critical in homogeneous mixture preparation. Due to the flexibility of spray penetration in design, the spray impingement on liner is avoided in a great extent. The results also indicate that higher needle valve opening pressure results in longer penetration and larger spray angle after impingement. Combustion characteristics of the impinged conical spray were studied in the 1135 type diesel engine. The new impinged conical spray system work smoothly in full load range with better fuel economy and lower emissions of NOx and soot than the original test engine.

沼气多孔介质燃烧换热器的燃烧换热特性研究

为促进沼气的实际应用,解决燃烧器对沼气热值变化的适应性问题,设计了一台基于沼气的多孔介质燃烧换热器.通过试验研究了沼气热值变化时,不同燃烧强度、不同水量下多孔介质燃烧换热器的燃烧室壁面温度分布、热效率及污染物排放情况.结果表明:沼气中甲烷含量为50%~70%时均可在燃烧换热器中稳定燃烧,燃烧室壁面温度变化在75℃以内;热值瞬时变化时,燃烧换热器仍能维持稳定燃烧,出口水温相较于燃烧室壁面最高温度响应速度略滞后;燃烧换热器有良好的换热能力,热效率随燃烧强度的增加而减小,随燃气热值和水量的增加而增加;尾部换热器传热系数和燃烧室传热系数都随燃烧强度的增加而增加;NOx排放随燃烧室壁面温度降低而降低,最高为27 mg/m^(3);CO排放量最大为151 mg/m^(3)。

低浓度甲烷旋流燃烧器性能数值模拟

为了解决煤层气中低浓度甲烷燃烧利用问题,基于贫燃预混、旋流燃烧等方法,运用传统导向叶片的成型原理提出一种新型旋流叶片.采用数值模拟研究了叶片的结构参数对燃烧器性能的影响.结果表明:随着叶片内径、包络角、数量和出口角增大,旋流强度增大,火焰的形状由细长向短粗转变,火焰向燃烧室中轴线靠近;未燃烧的混合气与高温烟气接触后可以更快达到燃烧温度,燃烧效率提高.但叶片包络角达到90°后,再次增大包络角,燃尽率稳定在98.2%.叶片内径增大,燃尽率先增大后减小,这是因为随着叶片出口速度的增大,混合气在高温区的停留时间反而减少,燃料燃烧效率下降.

有机固体废弃物热解气掺氨预混旋流火焰结构研究

由于有机固废热解产生的热解气热值较低,在一些燃烧器中无法燃烧,故采用旋流和掺混无碳燃料氨气的燃烧方式,以增强热解气燃烧的稳定性并减少碳排放.采用化学发光法对火焰结构进行了实验研究,基于CCD摄像系统,获得了不同当量比和掺氨比下热解气/氨气/空气预混旋流火焰中OH^(*)的化学发光分布.结果表明,不同类型热解气的旋流火焰形态结构差异较大;当量比增加到φ≥1时,OH^(*)辐射强度增强;掺氨使得热解气燃烧极限范围变窄,氨气的添加不仅会抑制OH^(*)自由基的产生,且会对火焰结构产生影响.

正十六烷引燃甲烷预混合气可视化实验研究

为探究环境温度、甲烷预混时间以及引燃燃料喷射压力对正十六烷引燃甲烷预混合气着火及火焰传播特性的影响,本文利用高速摄影技术及阴影拍摄方法,基于定容光学测试系统进行了可视化实验。研究结果表明:提高环境温度,引燃燃料滞燃期缩短,火焰发展速率增加并出现主燃区外预混合气局部着火;预混时间较短时,燃烧产生的碳烟较多,火焰发展速率随混合时间的增加而减小,当预混时间较长时,火焰发展速率趋于稳定;提高引燃燃料喷射压力,引燃燃料喷雾贯穿距离增大,滞燃期缩短,起始着火点位置发生变化,火焰发展速率增加。