30 Years of Dry-Low-NOx Micromix Combustor Research for Hydrogen-Rich Fuels—An Overview of Past and Present Activities

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the past and present of low-emission combustor research with hydrogen-rich fuels at Aachen University of Applied Sciences (AcUAS). In 1990, AcUAS started developing the dry-low-NOx Micromix combustion technology. Micromix reduces NOx emissions using jet-in-crossflow mixing of multiple miniaturized fuel jets and combustor air with an inherent safety against flashback. At first, pure hydrogen as fuel was investigated with lab-scale applications. Later, Micromix combustor prototypes were developed for the use in an industrial gas turbine Honeywell/Garrett GTCP-36-300, proving low NOx characteristics during real gas turbine operation, accompanied by the successful definition of safety laws and control system modifications. Further, the Micromix was optimized for the use in annular and can-combustors as well as for fuel-flexibility with hydrogen-methane-mixtures and hydrogen-rich syngas qualities by means of extensive experimental and numerical simulations. In 2020, the latest Micromix application is demonstrated in a commercial 2 MW-class gas turbine can-combustor with full-scale engine operation. This paper discusses the advances in Micromix research over the last three decades.