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DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: CELLO PULSE COMBUSTION BURNER SYSTEM/SONOTECH INC.
Citation:
Partymiller, K. G. DEMONSTRATION BULLETIN: CELLO PULSE COMBUSTION BURNER SYSTEM/SONOTECH INC. EPA/540/MR-95/502, 1995.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
Sonotech, Inc. (Sonotech), of Atlanta, GA, the developer of the Cello® pulse combustion burner, claims that its burner system can be beneficial to a variety of combustion processes. The system incorporates a combustor that can be tuned to induce large amplitude sonic pulsations inside combustion process units such as boilers or incinerators. According to Sonotech, these pulsations increase heat release, mixing, and mass transfer rates in the combustion process, resulting in faster and more complete combustion. Sonotech has targeted waste incineration as a potential application for the system. To test its potential applicability and effectiveness, the Sonotech system was demonstrated on the pilot-scale rotary kiln incineration system (RKS) at the EPA Incineration Research Facility (IRF) in Jefferson, AR. In the demonstration, a Sonotech Cello® system was retrofit to the primary combustion chamber of the RKS. A pulse combustor typically consists of an air inlet, a combustor section, and a tailpipe (see Figure 1). In the Cello® pulse combustor, fuel oxidation and heat release rates vary periodically with time, producing periodic variations or pulsations in pressure, temperature, and gas velocity. Sonotech claims that large amplitude resonant pulsations excited by its frequency-tunable pulse combustor can significantly improve an incinerator's performance, thereby reducing capital investment and operating costs for a wide variety of incineration systems.