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Show ABSTRACT ADVANCED RADIANT COMBUSTION SYSTEMS FOR PETROCHEMICAL PROCESS HEATERS J.D. Sullivan Alzeta Corporation Santa Clara, California Porous surface radiant burners manufactured by Alzeta are used in applications as diverse as commercial cooking equipment, residential hydronic heaters, and industrial water tube boilers. Over the past 12 years, 60 thousand radiant burners have been sold by Alzeta, and sales of both the Pyrocore®ceramic fiber burner and the pyromat™ metal fiber burner continue to grow. Demonstrated benefits provided by porous surface bumers include uniform and controlled heat transfer to the process, low emissions of NOx and CO, and increased radiant section efficiency, but these benefits have been limited to applications with peak process temperatures below approximately 1 OOO°F. The Advanced Radiant Combustion System (ARCS) project represents a major development effort by Alzeta that will: 1) increase the temperature capability of porous surface radiant bumers, and 2) demonstrate these improved radiant burners in intermediate to high temperature process heating applications. Alzeta has completed development of the high temperature radiant burner, the Pyrocore HT, and has been conducting limited field tests of the bumer for the past 12 months. The goal of the ARCS project is to demonstrate the new bumer in a high temperature application, and steam-methane reforming has been selected as the first use of this technology. A field test site has been identified, and demonstration of the ARCS is planned for 1995. INTRODUCTION Porous surface radiant burners have been demonstrated as an effective method of transferring high levels of radiant energy to a process or load, while maintaining high energy conversion efficiency and uniform flux. In normal operation, premixed gaseous fuel and air flow through a porous media, the burner pad, and combust at the surface of this material. The combustion reactions occur in close contact with this surface, heating it to (L |