Regenerative burner

Abstract

A method of combusting fuel in a furnace having a pair of regenerative burners, each burner having a combustion chamber and a regenerative bed having an exhaust means incorporated therewith introducing simultaneously into said combustion chamber of each burner approximately identical amounts of fuel and approximately identical amounts of oxidizing gases from at least two sources of oxidizing gases having different oxygen concentration to produce two approximately identical flame patterns directed toward the interior of said furnace; terminating the supply of fuel and said oxidizing gases to one of said burners to create a non-firing burner having a non-firing period while maintaining the production of a flame in the remaining burner to create a firing burner having a firing period; applying negative pressure to the exhaust end of the regenerative bed of said non-firing burner to initiate the exhausting of flue gases produced by said firing burner; alternating the introduction of fuel and at least one oxidizing gas between the burners and simultaneously alternating the application of negative pressure to exhaust flue gases from the regenerative bed of the remaining burner to provide heat recovery from the exhausted flue gases by the regenerative bed of the non-firing burner and simultaneously preheating at least one said oxidizing gas being supplied to said firing burner; and controlling the total flow of fuel and oxygen supplied to each burner to provide each burner with a desired flame stoichiometry.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.