Numerical study of an industrial burner to optimise NOx emissions and to evaluate the feasibility of hydrogen-enriched fuel

Reducing NO _x emissions from industrial burners is a significant concern due to their harmful environmental and human health impact. A computationally efficient numerical model was developed and validated using a detailed GRI 3.0 chemistry mechanism to simulate the combustion process and precisely predict the NO _x emissions from industrial burners. The numerical model was implemented to reduce NO _x emissions by varying the burner's primary to secondary air mass flow ratio. An optimum nozzle diameter was proposed to abate NO _x emissions by a factor of 0.845. A feasibility study on the optimised burner was conducted by blending up to 50% hydrogen by volume with natural gas by maintaining the same burner power output. Results showed that the burner exhibited similar flame characteristics until 40% hydrogen was added to natural gas. A 41.8% increase in NO and a 76.8% decrease in CO emissions were observed by enriching natural gas with 50% hydrogen.