Pulverized fuel-oxygen burner

A burner assembly for combining fuel and oxygen to produce a combustible fuel-oxygen mixture, the burner assembly comprising:

• a solid fuel conduit, wherein:
• the solid fuel conduit is formed to include a fuel transport passage for transporting fluidized, pulverized solid fuel;
• and
• the solid fuel conduit defines a fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein the fuel-oxygen nozzle has a side wall and is formed to include a fuel-oxygen transport passage;
• an oxygen conduit located about the fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein the oxygen conduit is formed to include an oxygen inlet and an oxygen passage;
• a first plurality of oxygen injection nozzles located in the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein each of the first plurality of oxygen injection nozzles define a flow path there through that is tangential to the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle;
• a second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles located in the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein each of the second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles define a flow path there through that is less than tangential and includes a radial component relative to the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle;
• and
• an oxygen distribution ring located within the oxygen passage between the oxygen inlet and the first and second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles, wherein the oxygen distribution ring defines a plurality of apertures in fluid communication with the oxygen inlet and the first and second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles.

A method for operating a burner assembly for combining fuel and oxygen to produce a combustible fuel-oxygen mixture, comprising:

• receiving, by a solid fuel conduit, fluidized, pulverized solid fuel;
• transporting the received fluidized, pulverized solid fuel through a fuel transport passage of the solid fuel conduit;
• admitting the fluidized, pulverized solid fuel from the fuel transport passage into a fuel-oxygen transport passage of a fuel-oxygen nozzle defined by the solid fuel conduit;
• admitting, from an oxygen passage of an oxygen conduit located about the fuel-oxygen nozzle, oxygen into the fuel-oxygen nozzle through a first plurality of oxygen injection nozzles located in a side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein the oxygen is admitted into the fuel-oxygen nozzle through the first plurality of oxygen injection nozzles in a flow path that is tangential to the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle;
• and
• admitting, from the oxygen passage of the oxygen conduit located about the fuel-oxygen nozzle, additional oxygen into the fuel-oxygen nozzle through a second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles located in the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle, wherein the additional oxygen is admitted into the fuel-oxygen nozzle through the second plurality of oxygen injection nozzles in a flow path that is less than tangential and includes a radial component relative to the side wall of the fuel-oxygen nozzle.