# US 2019/0170348 A1 · Gas-Assisted Liquid Fuel Oxygen Reactor

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- Number: US 2019/0170348 A1
- Document ID: US20190170348A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/267,030
- Filed: 2019-02-04
- Published: 2019-06-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-03-31
- Assignees: Saudi Arabian Oil Company; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
- Applicants: Saudi Arabian Oil Company; King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
- Inventors: Rached Ben-Mansour; Mohamed A. Habib; Aqil Jamal
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190170348A1

## CPC

- F23D 5/00: Burners in which liquid fuel evaporates in the combustion space, with or without chemical conversion of evaporated fuel
- F23D 5/12: Details
- F23D 11/10: the spraying being induced by a gaseous medium, e.g. water vapour
- F23D 11/404: {Flame tubes (not forming part of the burner F23M9/06)}
- F23D 11/44: Preheating devices; Vaporising devices
- F23D 23/00: Assemblies of two or more burners (gas burners with provision for a retention flame F23D14/26)
- F23N 3/00: Regulating air supply or draught (conjointly with fuel supply F23N1/00)
- F23D 2212/10: ceramic
- F23D: BURNERS
- F23N: REGULATING OR CONTROLLING COMBUSTION (control devices specially adapted for combustion apparatus in which combustion takes place in a fluidised bed of fuel or other particles F23C10/28; condition responsive controls for regulating combustion in domestic stoves with open fires for solid fuel F24B1/187)

## Abstract

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for low-CO2 emission combustion of liquid fuel with a gas-assisted liquid fuel oxygen reactor. The system comprises an atomizer that sprays fuel and CO2 into an evaporation zone, where the fuel and CO2 is heated into a vaporized form. The system comprises a reaction zone that receives the vaporized fuel and CO2. The system includes an air vessel having an air stream, and a heating vessel adjacent to the air vessel that transfers heat to the air vessel. The system comprises an ion transport membrane in flow communication with the air vessel and reaction zone. The ion transport membrane receives O2 permeating from the air stream and transfers the O2 into the reaction zone resulting in combustion of fuel. The combustion produces heat and creates CO2 exhaust gases that are recirculated in the system limiting emission of CO2.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A gas-assisted liquid fuel oxygen reactor system, comprising:
a CO2-assisted atomizer having an inlet adapted to receive a liquid fuel and an outlet adapted to spray atomized fuel and CO2;
an evaporation zone having an inlet adapted to receive the atomized liquid fuel and CO2;
a reaction zone co-axially aligned and in flow communication with the evaporation zone such that the reaction zone receives a flow of the vaporized fuel and CO2 from the evaporation zone;
a series of tubes comprised of ion transport membranes situated within the reaction zone and oriented perpendicularly to the flow of the vaporized fuel and CO2 in the reaction zone, wherein the tubes are adapted to internally receive an air stream and allow permeation of O2 from the air stream through the ion transport membranes to the reaction zone which surrounds the ion transport membranes, thereby resulting in an O2-depleted air stream inside the ion transport membranes and a combustion reaction in the reaction zone which is located external to the ion transport membranes, wherein the combustion reaction produces heat and creates exhaust gases that are recirculated in the system; and
a heating vessel comprising an inlet for a heated air and gaseous fuel stream, wherein the heating vessel defined by a structure that surrounds the reaction zone such that heat is transferred from the heated air and gaseous fuel stream to the reaction zone.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a fuel filter situated between the evaporation zone and the reaction zone and adapted to remove unwanted contaminants from the vaporized fuel and CO2 prior to entry of the vaporized fuel and CO2 into the reaction zone.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a bluff body located within the evaporation zone and adapted to assist in the evaporation of the fuel.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the recirculation of the exhaust gases provides energy to the system to maintain a constant temperature at the ion transport membrane.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The system of claim 4, wherein the constant temperature of the ion transport membrane is between 700° C. and 900° C.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, further comprising:
a heat exchanger located upstream of the CO2-assisted atomizer, the heat exchanger being adapted to receive the O2-depleted air stream from the tubes and the liquid fuel, and adapted to transfer heat from the O2-depleted air stream to the liquid fuel prior to reception of the liquid fuel in the CO2-assisted atomizer.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the system has a cylindrical configuration with the ion transport membranes extending transversely across the system.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the atomized liquid fuel and CO2 and the heated air and gaseous fuel stream both flow in the same direction which is at least generally perpendicular to the flow of the air stream.

### Claim 9

A method for low-CO2 emission combustion of a liquid fuel in a gas-assisted liquid fuel oxygen reactor, the method comprising:
injecting a liquid fuel into an evaporation zone, wherein the fuel is injected via a CO2-assisted atomizer adapted to spray the liquid fuel and CO2 into the evaporation zone;
vaporizing the liquid fuel and CO2 in the evaporation zone, resulting in a mixture of evaporated fuel and CO2;
flowing the mixture of evaporated fuel and CO2 into a reaction zone which is coaxial to the evaporation zone;
supplying a flow of air into an air vessel, wherein the air vessel and reaction zone are separated by an ion transport membrane, and wherein O2 permeates from the flow of air through the ion transport membrane and into the reaction zone resulting in an O2-depleted air stream in the air vessel;
delivering a hot air and gaseous fuel stream into a heating vessel adjacent to the air vessel, wherein heat from the hot air and gaseous fuel stream is transferred to the air vessel via conductive plates separating the heating vessel and the air vessel; and
combusting the evaporated fuel and CO2 in the presence of O2 in the reaction zone to produce heat and create an exhaust gas stream.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
heating the liquid fuel prior to injection of the liquid fuel into the evaporation zone.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the liquid fuel is heated via a heat exchanger.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein the step of heating the liquid fuel comprises:
recirculating the O2-depleted air stream to the heat exchanger upstream of the reaction zone, wherein the recirculated O2-depleted air stream transfers heat to the liquid fuel prior to injection of the liquid fuel into the CO2-assisted atomizer.

### Claim 13 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the step of vaporizing the liquid fuel comprises:
transferring heat from the hot air and gaseous fuel stream to the evaporation zone via conductive plates lining an outer wall of the evaporation zone.

### Claim 14 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
recirculating the exhaust gas stream to transfer heat to the air vessel.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14, wherein the heat is transferred to the air vessel via one or more conductive plates lining the air vessel.

### Claim 16 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising:
filtering the mixture of evaporated fuel and CO2 prior to flowing the mixture into the reaction zone.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the evaporated fuel and CO2 are filtered via a fuel filter.

### Claim 18 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, wherein the air vessel and the ion transport membrane are located within the reaction zone and wherein the flow of the mixture of evaporated fuel and CO2 into the reaction zone is perpendicular to the ion transport membrane.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, wherein the ion transport membrane is a tube surrounding the air vessel.