On Diluted-Fuel Combustion Issues in Burning Biogas Surrogates

Abstract

This paper describes an analysis of the burning velocity of pure and diluted fuels, with implications for the development and operation of biogas-fueled combustors. Background work in the area of flame stabilization and propagation are introduced from the combustion literature. Fuels examined in this paper were methane and ethylene; the diluents were primarily nitrogen, as well as argon, carbon dioxide, and helium. Trends in terms of burning velocities as functions of equivalence ratio are reported for a variety of fuels. Additionally, flame temperatures and associated burning velocities as a function of diluent composition are reported. Implications for several flame stabilization theories are discussed, as well as point to potential issues in converting combustors to accept biogas as a fuel permitting stable operation.