Process for combustion using a shaft actuated swirling combustor

A process for combusting a fuel stream with a shaft actuated swirling combustor comprising:

• a cylindrical vessel with an internal cavity;
• an ion transport membrane that divides the internal cavity of said cylindrical vessel into a first and a second concentric cylindrical zone, wherein the first concentric cylindrical zone is a feed zone and the second concentric cylindrical zone is a combustion zone;
• a first inlet and a first outlet located in the feed zone, and a second inlet and a second outlet located in the combustion zone;
• a swirler that is connected to the second inlet, wherein the swirler has a plurality of adjustable blades with adjustable angles, a shaft, a casing and an actuator disposed in the shaft;
• a third concentric cylindrical zone which is sandwiched between the first and the second concentric cylindrical zones, defining a sweep zone;
• and
• a third inlet and a third outlet located in the sweep zone, the process comprising:
• combusting the fuel stream with molecular oxygen in the combustion zone to form an exhaust stream comprising water vapor and carbon dioxide;
• delivering an oxygen-containing stream to the first inlet of the combustor, wherein molecular oxygen present in the oxygen-containing stream is transported to the sweep zone through the ion transport membrane;
• flowing a portion of the exhaust stream into the third inlet of the combustor to sweep the molecular oxygen away from the sweep zone and to form an oxygen-enriched stream;
• mixing the oxygen-enriched stream with the fuel stream in a mixer to form a combustion mixture;
• and
• delivering the combustion mixture to the second inlet of the combustor, wherein the combustion mixture is expanded and/or agitated in the combustion zone via the swirler and is combusted to form the exhaust stream;
• and
• repeating the flowing, the mixing, and the delivering.