Numerical simulation of oxygen-enriched combustion in industrial processes
by Marc Till, Ovidiu Marin
Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal (PCFD), Vol. 3, No. 1, 2003

Abstract: Industrial processes using fossil fuels have to meet stricter environmental requirements and improve energetic efficiency without compromising product quality. Oxygen-enrichment, and/or full oxygen firing technology addresses all these requirements, and leads to an increase in productivity in a variety of industrial applications. While the concept of oxygen enrichment has been around for a long time, its large-scale implementation has been postponed due mostly to the advances in air separation. The successful implementation of oxy-combustion has been largely based on state-of-the-art numerical simulation tools, given the complexity of the process. As most of the oxy-combustion solutions have been implemented in existing air-fired furnaces, detailed design analysis has been required, in order to secure on-the-fly retrofit, without perturbing the furnace operation. This article presents the state-of-the-art in the numerical simulation of industrial high temperature processes, with specific emphasis on oxygen-enriched combustion. A focus of the effort relates to the appropriate treatment of the combustion space, the load, and the interactions between them. Thus, different codes are implemented for each side, with information being exchanged between them, in a technique termed as ''numerical coupling''. Examples of industrial systems such as glass melting, steel reheating and cement making are provided. Although the 3-D CFD coupled simulations are very helpful in designing improved processes, they require important computing resources, limiting the use of detailed chemistry, radiative transport properties, etc. One way to overcome this limitation is to use less complex models, such as one-dimensional models during the initial process design phases, allowing selection of a first set of operating conditions such as the power distribution along the furnace. The article also presents an on-going model development, namely the NOx = NO_x production from oxy-fired systems, a topic of great interest in the design of new generation burners.

Online publication date: Wed, 24-Dec-2003

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