Burning apparatus for a solid wood-fueled process heating system

A process heating system, system comprising:

• a burner apparatus for generating a heated gas stream for a process heating system, the apparatus comprising:
• a blower;
• an air supply manifold having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, wherein the inlet is coupled to the blower and wherein the air supply manifold is operable to supply air to at least one additional burner apparatus;
• a combustion air damper having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, wherein the inlet is coupled to at least one air supply manifold outlet and wherein the combustion air damper is operable to adjustably control the volume of air exiting the plurality of outlets;
• a combustion chamber having a top, a bottom, a plurality of sidewalls, a fuel grate, a flue, and a fuel door, wherein the fuel grate is suspended above the plurality of combustion air damper outlets, wherein the top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls are steel without refractory material lining, and wherein the fuel door is steel with refractory material lining;
• a flue gas damper having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the flue gas damper is operable to selectively allow or disallow flue gas to exit through the combustion chamber flue;
• a cooling jacket having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the cooling jacket is a steel sheeting surrounding and narrowly spaced from the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls, wherein the inlet is coupled to at least one air supply manifold outlet, wherein the cooling jacket is operable to conduct air from inlet to outlet and to transfer heat from the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls and into the air to thereby prevent the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls from overheating and to generate heated air at the outlet;
• a turbulation device having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet is coupled to the flue gas damper outlet and to the cooling jacket outlet, wherein the turbulation device is operable to combine flue gas and heated air into a turbulent air-gas mixture, to complete combustion of the turbulent air-gas mixture, and to output a heated gas stream though the outlet;
• and
• a gas collection manifold having an inlet, a passive outlet, and an active outlet wherein the inlet is coupled to the turbulation device outlet, wherein the active outlet is operable to conduct, under negative pressure, the heated gas stream, wherein the passive outlet is operable to allow the heated gas stream to vent to the atmosphere when the active outlet does not have negative pressure, and wherein the gas collection manifold is operable to collect the heated gas stream from at least one additional burner apparatus;
• and
• an ambient air mixing valve having a first inlet, a second inlet, and an outlet, wherein the first inlet is coupled to the active outlet of the gas collection manifold and the second inlet is coupled to an ambient air source and wherein the ambient air mixing valve is operable to adjust the ratio of the volume of the heated gas stream to the volume of ambient air output at the outlet as a process heat stream;
• a heat-consuming process having an and an outlet duct, wherein the inlet duct is coupled to the ambient air mixing valve outlet and is operable to receive the process heat stream;
• and
• an induction fan having an inlet, wherein the inlet is coupled to the heat-consuming process outlet and wherein the induction fan is capable of drawing the process heat stream through the heat-consuming process.