Fuel burner and process for gas manufacture

In a continuous process for the manufacture of gas mixtures rich in hydrogen and carbon monoxide by the partial oxidation of a reactant stream selected from the group consisting of gaseous hydrocarbon fuel, liquid hydrocarbon fuel, and pumpable slurries of solid carbonaceous fuel with a reactant stream of oxygen-rich gas selected from the group consisting of air, oxygen-enriched air containing more than 21 mole % oxygen, and substantially pure oxygen containing more than 95 mole % oxygen in an amount providing a weight ratio of free oxygen to carbon in the feed stock in the range of 0.7 to 1.5, and in the presence of a temperature moderator selected from the group consisting of steam, atomized liquid water, CO.sub.2, cooled portion of product gas, cooled off-gas from an ore-reduction zone, inert gas such as nitrogen, and mixtures thereof;

• said partial oxidation reaction occurring in the reaction zone of a free flow gas generator at an autogenous temperature in the range of about 1700.degree. to 3500.degree.F and at a pressure in the range of about 1 to 250 atmospheres, the improvement which comprises (1) splitting one of said reactant streams optionally in admixture with a portion of said temperature moderator into a plurality of smaller streams flowing through tubes parallel to each other and without touching each other in a symmetrically spaced bunch;
• (2) simultaneously passing in the same direction as said streams of first reactant said other reactant stream optionally in admixture with a portion of said temperature moderator into the interstices between each of said plurality of parallel tubes;
• (3) mixing the reactant streams from (1) and (2) together to produce a well distributed blend;
• and (4) burning the mixture from (3) downstream in said reaction zone.