System for vaporization of liquid fuels for combustion and method of use
AssigneeLPP Combustion, LLC
InventorsRichard J. Roby, Michael S. Klassen, Christopher F. Schemel
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A gas stream with a reduced oxygen concentration relative to ambient air is used to vaporize a liquid fuel or liquified higher hydrocarbon gas, or is mixed with a vaporized gas, and the reduced oxygen vaporized fuel gas is fed to a combustion device such as a premixed or diffusion combustor. Preferably, the oxygen content of the gas stream is less than the limiting oxygen index. By mixing the fuel with a gas stream that has an appropriately reduced oxygen content, auto-ignition prior to the flame front can be avoided. In some embodiments, the reduced oxygen stream is generated from an air separator or taken from the exhaust of the combustion device.
Claims44
A method for operating a combustion device, the method comprising the steps of:
- producing a fuel gas using a liquid fuel comprising hydrocarbon molecules and a first gas stream with an oxygen content less than that of ambient air;
- premixing the fuel gas and a second gas to produce a gas mixture at a location upstream of a combustion zone of a combustion device, the second gas including oxygen;
- and
- combusting the gas mixture in the combustion zone of the combustion device, whereby auto-ignition of the gas mixture upstream of the combustion zone is substantially suppressed.
A method for operating a combustion device configured to combust natural gas in a lean, premixed mode, the method comprising the steps of:
- vaporizing a higher hydrocarbon liquid fuel using a gas stream having a reduced oxygen content relative to ambient air to produce a reduced oxygen fuel gas;
- premixing the reduced oxygen fuel gas and a second gas to produce a gas mixture at a location upstream of a combustion zone of a combustion device, the gas mixture having an amount of oxygen sufficient to support combustion of the gas mixture, the gas mixture having an equivalence ratio less than one, the combustion device being configured to combust natural gas;
- and
- combusting the gas mixture in the combustion zone of the combustion device, whereby auto-ignition of the gas mixture upstream of the combustion zone is substantially suppressed.
A combustion system comprising:
- a combustion device, the combustor having an inlet for accepting a vaporized fuel, a combustion zone, and a premixing zone upstream of the combustion zone, the combustion device being configured to mix the vaporized fuel with an oxygenated gas stream in the premixing zone to produced a gas mixture and combust the gas mixture in the combustion zone;
- and
- a fuel vaporization unit connected to the inlet of the combustion device, the fuel vaporization unit being configured to supply a reduced oxygen vaporized fuel gas stream to the combustion device via the inlet, the fuel vaporization unit including a fuel vaporizer with a first inlet connectable to a liquid fuel source and a second inlet connectable to a reduced oxygen gas stream.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.