INDUSTRIAL GASES/

COMBUSTION

How to
Maximize
Burner Efficiency
Mark Lampe Honeywell Industrial &
Commercial Thermal; Muncie, Ind.
Because energy costs are a major factor for many industrial
processes, it makes sense to carefully analyze how the
natural gas is being used and whether the system is
running at peak efficiency.

he challenges of effectively burning natural gas date

back much further than one might think. Natural gas
seeps were first discovered in China as early as 900 B.C.
Surprisingly, natural gas was not discovered in the United
States until around 1815 during the digging of a salt brine well
in Charleston, W.V., and it was not until 1886 when natural gas
was first discovered in the northeastern states.
Some of the early issues with burning natural gas for industrial
use included difficulty in keeping the flame consistently lit and
achieving the higher temperatures necessary for melting glass
and metals.
As early as the 1800s a chemist named T.R. Bunsen invented a
burner that produced a very hot and practically non-luminous
flame by permitting air to enter at the base of the burner to
mix with gas before igniting. It was not until the early 1900s,
however, that these principles of premixing gas and air were
applied to industrial burners.[1]
Even in those early days, it was understood that the precise
mixture of gas and air had a major effect on the f lame and
its efficiency. For as long as natural gas has been used in
industrial combustion, the same question is still being asked
today: How should natural gas be burned to get the most
efficiency out of a system?
Natural gas continues to gain a strong foothold globally as
production techniques are increasing availability, lowering costs
and making it more attractive for industrial combustion use. The
industrial sector currently consumes 27% of the natural gas in the
U.S., with projected increases of 6.25% between 2014 and 2021.
The largest use of natural gas by the industrial sector is 42% for
process heating, and the second largest use is boilers at 22%.[2]
As a major cost factor in any industrial process, it only makes
sense to carefully analyze how natural gas is being used and
whether the system is running at peak efficiency.

Throughout the manufacturing process, energy is lost due to

equipment inefficiency and mechanical and thermal limitations.
Optimizing the efficiency of these systems can result in
significant energy and cost savings and reduce carbon dioxide
emissions. Understanding how energy is used and wasted
energy use and loss footprints can help plants pinpoint areas of
energy intensity and ways to improve efficiency.[3]
The U.S. Department of Energys Industrial Technologies
Program (www.eere.energy.gov) has identified that improved
burner control systems offer a significant opportunity for
reducing energy operating costs, waste and environmental
emissions. As plant managers seek to improve combustion
performance and product quality, they must balance cost, time,
fuel and energy-saving measures.[4]
What does it mean to optimize combustion performance? In
industrial heating, combustion performance can be optimized
by reducing fuel usage, minimizing cost, improving burner
productivity, lowering furnace operating costs and producing a
better end product.[5] All good things to consider, so the question
becomes how can these all be achieved?
Numerous checks can be made to ensure a combustion system
is operating at its highest potential efficiency before committing
capital to upgrade existing equipment. They include:
Inspect burners, regulators and control valves for wear or
damage. In addition to the wear experienced in mechanical
devices, burners can degrade as they operate at combustion
temperatures up to 3400F (1871C). Periodically inspect
burner internals for accumulated dirt and debris, wear,
excessive oxidation or warping. Pay particular attention to
gas nozzles, mixing plates and bluff bodies.
Evaluate the furnace refractory, which must be maintained,
or face the prospect of overheated furnace casings,
deterioration of casings or other furnace parts, increased
IndustrialHeating.com JUNE 2016

37

INDUSTRIAL GASES/
COMBUSTION

Air flow meter

control valve

Air flow meter

Other
15%

Air

Feedstock
15%

Electronic
controller

CHP & other

power
14%

Burner

Fuel

Boilers
22%

Natural gas used in the industrial sector

Fuel flow
meter

Shut-off valve

Fuel ratio
control valve

A mass flow air/fuel ratio control system controls burner performance by metering
the incoming air/gas flows and modulating the flows via precision actuators.

maintenance costs and lost production time.

Clean or replace air filters and fuel strainers. Any device
that could impact burner air/fuel ratios should be given
extra attention, including valves, linkages, regulators and
regulator impulse lines. Make sure that bearing lubrication
has been performed on a regular schedule.
Inspect process heating equipment such as ovens, dryers
or kilns to look for energy loss due to air leaks, improper
damper settings or less-than-effective process-control
settings, programming or tuning.
Inspect air/fuel control mechanisms to make sure that
there is no excessive hysteresis or variability present.
Coarse positioning resolution, lack of synchronization and
nonlinear response make it harder to maintain process
temperature and air/fuel ratio setpoints.
If the system has temperature modulation, be certain the
control loop is tuned correctly to limit hunting or overshoot.
These actions produce wasted energy and add unnecessary
wear on modulating actuators and control valves.
At times, combustion equipment appears to be operating
properly while out of adjustment, contributing to
inefficiency and poor emissions. Depending on the specific
application of the burner, tuning to a designed air/gas ratio
often can reduce fuel consumption.
Check the products of combustion with a combustion
analyzer to verify that all the fuel is burning completely
and cleanly. Telltale signs of incomplete combustion
are aldehydes, high carbon monoxide and unburned
hydrocarbons in the exhaust or process.
Remember that burners only create heat. How the heat
transfers to the end product is a function of the specific
equipment design.
38

Industrial heating/
process heating
42%

JUNE 2016 IndustrialHeating.com

The industrial sector currently consumes 27 percent of the

natural gas in the United States with projected increases of
6.25 percent between 2014 and 2021.
Source: EIA Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), 2010

All of the issues listed can contribute to less-than-optimal

use of fuel and increased operating costs. If the combustion
system appears to be functioning properly and the maintenance
checklist has been reviewed but the system is still not able
to hit the targets for temperature control, fuel efficiency or
emissions control there are several additional areas to be
examined. These include excess combustion air, the air/fuel ratio
control and burner selection.
Excess Combustion Air
Defined as any air that is not necessary to burn all of the fuel,
excess combustion air can rob boiler and furnace systems of
efficiency. It takes energy to heat the excess air not utilized
in the combustion process, and most of this heat is lost up
the stack. Better air management can lead to significant
improvements.
Excess air can vary widely in all applications. High
temperature is normally 5-15% excess air, while lowtemperature applications like air heaters can be 5-100%.
Excess air can increase NOx emissions in boiler and furnace
applications because typically not enough excess air is available
to reduce the f lame temperature. Conversely, high excess air
is actually used in air heating applications to lower NOx by
cooling the f lame.
Air/Fuel Ratio Control
A significant efficiency impact on burners is the ratio mix of
the air and fuel. Essentially, there are two types of air/fuel
burners: forced draft and natural draft. Forced-draft burners
use blowers to provide pressurized air to oxidize the fuel and to
produce different flame patterns. The blowers run continuously,
increasing electrical usage, and require a means to proportion

airflow to the rate of fuel flow. By contrast, with naturaldraft burners, the air and gas flow are unforced and follow
the natural convection patterns created by the mechanics of
the combustion chamber and ducts. Blowers are not used with
natural-draft burners.
By keeping tighter control of the air/fuel ratio, one can better
control the combustion reaction and its efficiency. One method
for doing this includes using a fixed-air system also called
fuel-only control where airflow is held constant and the burner
output is controlled by trimming incoming gas via a control
valve. Another option is to control air input with a variablefrequency drive (VFD), regulating the blower speed with a
single gas valve controlling gas inputs.
A third, and more desirable, option is to use flow sensors
and control valves that monitor and continually adjust air
and gas. This method is often known as a mass-flow air/fuel
ratio-control system. The system controls burner performance
by metering the incoming air/gas flows and modulating
the flows via precision actuators. This system automatically
compensates for changes that affect combustion performance
such as variations in air and fuel temperature, supply pressures
and variable combustion-chamber pressures. Mass-flow air/fuel
ratio control often is applied on low-emissions applications.
Burner Selection
Many of the industrial-burner manufacturers have product
catalogs that measure nearly a foot thick. Why? The answer
is that decades of gas-fired heating applications have proven
that specific burner designs can have dramatic effects on
the heating efficiency of various types of equipment. Once
all of the above checklist items have been exhausted and the
desired performance targets still cannot be reached, it may be
necessary to consider upgrading to a different burner design to
gain the desired outcomes.
By varying characteristics such as discharge velocity,
flame shape, flame radiance, control methods and flame
stoichiometry, burner manufacturers can match the heattransfer characteristics of their burners to the specific needs of a
process or application.
For optimal performance, select burners that are intended for
the process or device to be heated. Consider how each burner
actually burns fuel and transfers heat to the end product. The
correct burner can have a significant effect on fuel bills. Similarly,
incorrect burner sizing can have a negative effect on performance
and efficiency. It is not uncommon to find burners installed that
are too large for the actual demand of the process. When this
oversizing occurs, the combustion-air blower is less efficient. In
addition, most industrial heating burners of metallic construction
use higher proportions of excess air for cooling at lower firing
rates. Therefore, in addition to reduced blower efficiency, process
thermal efficiency may be sacrificed when burners are oversized.
It is typical for the operating cost of an industrial heating
system to outweigh the initial capital expense. The best

suggestion is to regularly maintain the system as recommended

by the manufacturer to make sure it is running as efficiently
as possible. It is not always necessary to consider a complete
overhaul of the system. Tune-ups and system adjustments usually
will result in some improvements. If targets are still out of reach,
consider upgrading the burner or the air/fuel control system.
Only rarely does an overhaul require replacement of an oven or
boiler structure.
It is critical to spend the time, effort and capital to make sure
that the combustion components are specified to match necessary
operational requirements. After that, it is imperative to closely
monitor how well the new system is performing compared to
initial targets and make ongoing adjustments as needed. In the
long run, efficiencies and performance will be improved, and
profits are likely to increase.
For more information: Contact Mark Lampe, product manager for
the Industrial & Commercial Thermal division for Honeywell
Environmental and Energy Solutions, 201 E. 18th Street.,
Muncie, IN 47302; tel: 765-254-1109; fax: 765-254-2109;
e-mail: mlampe@maxoncorp.com; web: www.maxoncorp.com

References available online

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