Implementing a gaseous fuel mixing system to use in a 30 kW burner and survey on laminar flame speed

Abstract

This paper contains the optimal design of a natural gas and hydrogen supply and mixing station for the combustor test facility and the laminar flame speed and burning velocity investigation. Our first goal is a piping/process and instrumentation drawing (P&ID) and 
Process Flow Diagram (PFD) which include the type and connection of different gases, flow rates, tube sizing, and implemented equipment in this design and it is divided into two parts. One part is provided by the Catholic University of Leuven after considering 
Health and Safety and Environment (HSE) actions. The second and more critical part is provided by external suppliers, and it consists of two design phases, namely the gas mixing panel and the gas splitting panel. External companies that design, produce, and 
supply the panels are divided into two groups, which provide mass flow controller/meter and gas mixing/splitting panel respectively in order to provide the optimal and optimized mixing system. In addition, survey results also revealed that laminar burning velocity 
(LBV) in hydrogen-air mixtures is almost six times greater than methane-air combustion velocity. In addition, a significant increase in the laminar flame speed of the CH4-CO2-O2 mixture has been recorded as the oxygen concentration increased from 25% to 35%, 
confirming that hydrogen and oxygen positively impact the laminar flame speed in different percentages. Although lots of experimental research has been done on hydrogen enriched oxy-combustion, this topic remains interesting for researchers to improve combustion efficiency. Finally, an optimal and cost-effective design of a gaseous fuel mixing system is the outcome of this work that will be used for performing measurement and test activities in the future.