Abstract
The existing biogas Conventional Burners (CBs) are less energy efficient and are designed for rich fuel combustion. Porous Media Burner (PMB), working on the principle of combustion in porous media offer several advantages including high thermal efficiency, low emissions, high power intensity, etc. In this work, a study on the effect of porous material on the thermal behaviour of a biogas operated PMB is presented. A state-of-the-art PMB working in the thermal load range of 5 to 10 kW has been developed, which can be used for both industrial and domestic purposes. It is a two section burner composed of a combustion zone and a preheat zone. Keeping the material of the preheat zone unchanged (Al2O3 ceramic), the burner is tested with two different materials in the combustion zone (SiC and ZrO2 foams). Experimental investigation has been done to analyze the stability criteria and study the temperature distribution in the PMB. This includes the identification of the stable operating limits (flashback and blow off) and measurement of temperature profiles in axial and radial direction. These assessments confirm that SiC is a better choice over ZrO2 for lean biogas combustion in PMB.
