Experimental investigation of the combustion characteristics in oxy-fuel combustion of hydrogen-enriched natural gas on a semi-industrial scale

The present paper deals with the influence of different hydrogen enrichment on oxy-fuel combustion of natural gas, enabling important insights regarding decarbonization of high-temperature processes. Experiments were conducted using a high-impulse multifuel burner for industrial applications for hydrogen contents between 0 and 100%. The fuel input varied between 100 and 140 kW, while water-cooled lances were used to simulatethermal loads. The analysis included temperature measurement points, atomic and energy balances and the cooling capacity of the thermal load for steady-state operation. The obtained results show that the flue gas temperature decreases by up to 126 K for pure hydrogen, while the cooling capacities of the thermal load increased by up to 16.3% at constant calorific energy input. The flames for different hydrogen enrichments were also compared visually. Overall, all investigated fuel blends were highly interchangeable with the investigated burner and showed high potential for a timely decarbonization of industrial heating.