The boiler burner provides the heat needed to convert the water in the boiler into steam and is attached to the boiler. The burner is like an industrial blowtorch that pushes
heat into the boiler. It increases or decreases the amount of heat injected depending on the steam demand.
Importance of Air and Burners
In order to burn this fuel efficiently, the burner must have the right amount of air. This is why the air-to-fuel ratio is a key metric to ensure that the burner operates efficiently.
When the ratio of fuel and air is out of balance, unburned fuel will be deposited in the boiler tubes in the form of soot. This directly affects the ability of heat to transfer from
the tubes to the surrounding water and will reduce steam production.
When outside air is drawn in to feed the burner, you must also consider the temperature of the air. When the supply air temperature to the burner fluctuates widely, it can cause
combustion problems. We usually start to see combustion after a temperature change of 15 to 20 degrees.
Combustion tuning is one way to ensure that this does not happen in your system. If you bring in outside air, you should usually adjust it seasonally. This is because temperature
changes can affect the combustion of the burner.
Boiler Burner Byproducts
Once the correct fuel-to-air ratio is obtained, the burner must ignite the mixture and produce a flame. The result of this combustion is the production of CO, CO2, NOx, particulate
matter, and other byproducts. Environmental regulations at the federal, state, and local levels focus on limiting the production of these byproducts. You can meet these regulations
through two methods: pre-combustion and post-combustion.
Depending on the byproducts you want to reduce, there are many different ways to address them. For example, by increasing boiler efficiency, you can reduce system load. This in
turn will reduce CO2 emissions. On the other hand, some low NOx burners are able to reduce the production of NOx to less than 10ppm. This is usually achieved by reducing the
flame temperature.