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Show One of the first practical applications was an industrial boiler which exhibited a 20% increase in peak capacity with a simultaneous 10% reduction in fuel costs. There are over 500 of these units being operated in former Gulf refineries, most of them firing natural gas but equipped for duaJ fuel capability, including heavy oils. The technology was then licensed to various manufacturers for further development and marketing. Today's AECOmetric High Intensity Burner is a substantially refined variant of the original technology, and through its better than 20 year history of industrial use, has consistently remained the performance leader in all areas of burner measurement and comparison. Vortometric Burner Technology The key difference between a vortometric burner and a conventional turbulent diffusion (TDF) flame is the degree of mixing between the fuel and air. The vortex creates a reverse jet of air at the centreline of the burner, which promotes opposed jet turbulent mixing when it meets the fuel jets from the nozzle of the gun. The intensity of the mixing is reflected in the volumetric heat release for each type of burner. High intensity burners exhibit heat release rates of over 1 million BTU/hr per cubic foot of flame volume, while forced draft TDF burners demonstrate rates of under 120,000 BTU/hr/ft3 and natural draft TDF burners only 100,000 BTU/hr/ft3. High intensity burner flames are retained within the combustion chamber of the burner and heat the product with the exhaust gases, rather than by the direct flame contact and radiation typical of forced and natural draft TDF burners. This characteristic is highly preferable, offering advantages in process efficiencies while substantially reducing maintenance and refractory costs. The other significant difference is also related to the mixing issue. Vortometric burners can complete combustion with only stoichiometric air, while forced draft burners normally require a minimum of 5-10% excess air to burn cleanly without soot or carbon monoxide. Natural draft burners can require a minimum of 300% excess air for difficult fuels such as heavy oils. Attempts to manage combustion and emissions, while maintaining adequate fiJing temperatures have resulted in the development of sophisticated, costly and maintenance intensive control systems for forced and natural draft TDF burners. The AECOmetric High Intensity Burner by contrast, achieves superior results directly at the burner, with no dampers or moving parts to monitor and continually adjust. It also contributes to operating efficiencies and fuel savings which are an order of magnitude superior to competing burners. Page 2 |