Industrial processes with furnaces, boilers, ovens, dryers, and other assets requiring combustion controls look to improve efficiency to reduce costs and lower emissions. One example is implementing a burner control strategy with pulse firing, which can reduce fuel consumption, improve temperature uniformity within the combustion chamber, lower nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, and achieve a better, more efficient Turndown Ratio.
Instead of the traditional heat-modulating control strategies, burners in a pulse firing system are not fired constantly. Instead, they are “pulsed” repeatedly in an ON/OFF or high-fire/ low-fire cycle. For example, the burners can fire at a high level for a specific timeframe and then cycle to a lower level — or turn off entirely — depending on the application’s needs.
Rugged and reliable valves used in the fuel train are essential to successfully applying this burner control strategy. This quick 51-second video, How to Properly Maintain Your Fuel Train, shows some effective safety shutoff valves for the application. These valves include the ASCO Series 158/159 and 214 safety shutoff valves.
In addition to pulsing the burners through high-fire/low-fire cycles, pulsing systems can switch the burner from a high-fire position to the OFF position. To regulate the heat, the controller needs to change the duty cycle by changing the time between the pulses — i.e., pulse faster or slower — or by changing the length of time the burner is ON for each pulse.
Watch the video and visit the Industrial Burner Solutions section on Emerson.com for a whitepaper and more information on ways to drive fuel efficiency and emissions performance improvements.
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