Method and apparatus for regulating a flame length in a partial oxidation reactor

An apparatus for regulating a length of a flame for partial oxidation of a hydrocarbon feed in a reactor to produce synthesis gas, comprising:

• at least one burner comprising a plurality of co-axial channels that comprises,
• a first channel to inject a stream of oxidizer into the reactor;
• a second channel to inject a stream of the hydrocarbon feed into the reactor, wherein the injection of the hydrocarbon feed stream and the oxidizer stream produces the flame inside the reactor;
• and
• a third channel to inject a stream of swirl gas at a first velocity into the hydrocarbon feed stream, wherein the swirl gas is injected tangentially through at least one injection nozzle of the third channel to generate a swirl motion within the hydrocarbon feed stream, wherein the at least one injection nozzle is in fluid connection with the second channel;
• a control system that determines the first velocity of the swirl gas based on programmed parametric flame length functions with respect to at least one operational parameter of the reactor;
• and regulates the first velocity of the swirl gas that generates the swirl motion within the hydrocarbon feed stream to regulate the length of the flame to have a constant flame shape and a position inside the reactor,
• wherein the first channel is a central channel,
• wherein the second channel is a first annular channel surrounding the first channel,
• wherein the third channel is a second annular channel surrounding the first channel and the second channel,
• wherein the stream of swirl gas is configured to be injected tangentially with respect to the hydrocarbon feed,
• wherein the stream of swirl gas is configured to be injected only into the hydrocarbon feed.