KARLSRUHE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (KIT)

Image-based analysis of multi-fuel
burners in industrial combustion processes

$1 Time history of alternative fuel fraction for a multi-fuel burner in cement production$ 1, 2, 4, 6 authors

1 Time history of alternative fuel fraction for a multi-fuel burner in cement production

1, 2, 4, 6 authors

2 Camera mounting position on a cement rotary kiln

3 MIR camera image of a multi-fuel burner in a rotary kiln environment [1]

4 Schematic diagram of a MIR camera image of a multi-fuel burner

5 Example of a 3D simulation model of a multi-fuel burner in a rotary kiln environment in Blender [1]

6 Control-room display of camera image, clinker temperature and throw distance

7 Comparison of clinker-bed temperature and throw distance of alternative fuel over several consecutive days of monitoring at a cement rotary kiln plant [4]

Due to fluctuating properties, high proportions of alternative fuels are a major challenge for multi-fuel burners used in industrial combustion processes. This article presents a new, camera-based measurement system that allows the online extraction of parameters concerning the flight and, hence, combustion behavior of the fuel. Based on these parameters, the combustion process can be analyzed and optimized, thus ensuring consistent product quality despite high proportions of alternative fuels.

1 Introduction

In today’s world, the conservation of natural resources, e.g., fossil fuels, is of central importance. This topic is particularly significant in energy-intensive sectors such as industrial combustion processes, where it takes enormous amounts of fuel to provide the required thermal energy.

Increasingly in such processes, lignite and other fossil fuels are being substituted by so-called alternative fuels, including processed plastic waste and used tires. In cement clinker production, for example, many rotary kilns are now equipped with multi-fuel burners designed to combust...