Numerical Simulation of a Process Burner with the Aim of Lowering its NOx Emission First Results

In line with its efforts to protect the environment, GOF is taking a close look at NOx emissions from high-temperature process burners with preheated air. Increasingly stringent standards and much upgraded computer processing capacities have prompted us to make use of such modern tools as fluid mechanics, heat transfer and combustion computer codes in designing low-NOx burners. In collaboration with STEIN HEURTEY, GOF has decided to simulate numerically the nonreactive and reactive flows in a process burner, with a view to developing a tool for less pollutant burners design. This numerical simulation, performed using the PHOENICS code, will be validated: - by NOx emission measurements on the standard and low-Nox versions (the low-NOx version has been experimentally designed by STEIN HEURTEY). - by measurements taken on a isothermal model and trough precise flame analyses (measurement of velocity by LOA, measurement of temperature by thin-wire thermocouples and measurement of stable chemical species). In this paper, we will outline the main results obtained through the study, and particularly trough the experimental validation work.