Design and Experimental Characterization of a Swirl-Stabilized Combustor for Low Calorific Value Gaseous Fuels

Abstract

Low calorific value (LCV) gaseous fuels are generated as by-products in many commercial sectors, e.g., as mine gas or biogas. Their efficient exploitation can be a considerable source of primary energy. Typically, product gases from biomass are characterized by low lower heating values (LHVs) due to their high concentration of inert gases and steam. At the same time, their composition varies strongly based on the initial feedstock and may contain unwanted components in the form of tars and ammonia. These properties make the design of appropriate combustion systems very challenging and issues such as ignition, flame stability, emission control, and combustion efficiency must be accounted for. By employing a proprietary gas turbine burner at the TU Berlin, the combustion of an artificial LCV gas mixture at stoichiometric conditions has been successfully demonstrated for a broad range of steam content in the fuel. This work presents the stability maps and emissions measured with the swirl-stabilized burner at premixed conditions. It was shown that the flame location and shape primarily depend on the steam content of the LCV gas. The steam content in the fuel was increased until flame blow-out occurred at LHVs well below the target condition of 2.87 MJ/kg (2.7 MJ/mN3). The exhaust gas is analyzed in terms of the pollutants NOx and CO for different fuel compositions, moisture contents, and thermal powers. Finally, OH* measurements have been carried out in the flame. A simple reactor network simulation was used to confirm the feasibility of the experimental results.