boiler burner fuel
The burner works by mixing air and fuel together to create an efficient flame inside the boiler. The type of burner and fuel availability will determine which fuel
you use, but usually it will be one of the following:
natural gas
propane
biogas
#2 Fuel
heavy oil
Solid fuels (such as wood or coal)
Tallow
The Importance of Air and Burners
In order to burn this fuel efficiently, the burner must have the correct amount of air available. This is why the air-fuel ratio is a key indicator to ensure efficient
operation of the burner. When the ratio of fuel to air is abnormal, unburned fuel can be deposited in the boiler tubes as soot. This directly affects the ability of
heat to transfer from the pipe to the surrounding water and will reduce steam output.
When drawing in outside air to feed the burner, you must also consider the temperature of the air. Combustion problems can result when the burner's supply air
temperature fluctuates significantly. We usually start to see burning after a temperature change of 15 to 20 degrees.
Combustion tuning is one way to ensure this doesn't happen in your system. If you are bringing in outside air, you should generally do this on a seasonal basis.
This is caused by temperature changes that affect burner combustion.
Boiler burner by-products
Once the correct fuel to air ratio is achieved, the burner must ignite the mixture and demonstrate a flame. The result of combustion is the production of carbon
monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and other by-products. Environmental regulations at the federal, state, and local levels focus on
setting limits on the production of these byproducts. You can meet these regulations through pre-combustion and post-combustion methods.
Depending on the by-products you want to reduce, there are many different ways to address them. For example, by making your boiler more efficient, you can
reduce the load on your system. This in turn will reduce carbon dioxide emissions. On the other hand, some low NOx burners are capable of reducing NOx
production to levels below 10 ppm. This is usually achieved by lowering the flame temperature.