Session: 04-07 High Hydrogen III

Paper Number: 129464

129464 - An Investigation of a Multi-Injector, Premix/Micromix Burner Burning Pure Methane to Pure Hydrogen 

Micromix combustion technology has been identified as a promising strategy to mitigate the risks associated with burning high-hydrogen content fuels. This technology has recently been introduced in premixed injector designs to develop burners with broader fuel flexibility, allowing the combustion of natural gas, or currently available hydrocarbon fuels, to pure hydrogen by controlling the micromix fuel ratio (MFR). These injectors could be deployed rapidly to meet current energy needs, while being ready for the introduction of hydrogen in the fuel mixture, as it continues to become readily available and economically viable. The additional operational control through MFR can lead to premixed, partially-premixed, and diffusion flames resulting in a wide variety of combustion properties. The combustion characteristics of such flames in an industrial combustion environment with hundreds of injectors is unknown. Towards this goal, a multi-injector configuration, consisting of five (5) injectors placed in a cross pattern, is used to investigate the combustion of pure methane to pure hydrogen, and different blends. Stability and combustion dynamic maps are first obtained for fuel-lean mixtures of H₂/CH₄ ranging from 0/100, 70/30, 90/10, to 100/0%, by volume. An increase in blowoff limit is observed for the multi-injector array, while  flashback occurs more rapidly for dominantly-premixed conditions with high-hydrogen content fuel. Attached, partially-lifted, and lifted flames are observed in the multi-injector array and provide a complex system to better understanding the flame-flame interactions of the partially-premixed and micromixed combustion. Laser-diagnostics is then performed on selected operating conditions with hydrogen content of 0, 30, 50, 70, 90, and 100%. Eight cases are shown in this work for a constant bulk inlet velocity and adiabatic flame temperature with increasing hydrogen content in the fuel and MFR. Two-dimensional (2D) PIV, OH and acetone planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF), as well as acoustic measurements are performed simultaneously and phase-averaged measurements are extracted by registering the PIV and PLIF signals with the acoustic signal. The integration of the premix/micromix burner within a multi-element burner highlights the challenges of this unique combustion strategy and the opportunity for this technology for current and future use.

Presenting Author: Antoine Durocher McGill University

Presenting Author Biography: Antoine obtained is PhD from McGill University with a focus on sustainable fuels and NOx formation towards the development of robust emissions predictions. He performed NO-PLIF measurements in methane and hydrogen flames at atmospheric and high-pressures and developed an uncertainty quantification framework to improve NOx kinetic models. In is postdoc fellowship, he has primarily been working on novel combustion concepts introducing micromix fuel injection for high-hydrogen content fuels to better understand the impact of this fueling strategy using simultaneous OH and acetone PLIF, PIV, and phase-locked diagnostics.

Authors:

Antoine Durocher McGill University
Luming Fan National Research Council Canada
Marc Füri Siemens Energy Canada Limited
Gilles Bourque Siemens Energy Canada Limited
Julien Sirois Siemens Energy Canada Limited
David May Siemens Energy Canada Limited
Jeffrey Bergthorson McGill University
Sean Yun National Research Council Canada
Patrizio Vena National Research Council Canada