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Burner Types by Fuel Source

The choice of fuel is the primary factor in burner selection, influencing design, efficiency, and operating costs. This guide details the four main categories of fuel-based industrial burners.

1. Gas Burners (Natural Gas / LPG / Biogas)

Gas burners are the most common industrial solution due to their cleanliness, ease of control, and availability.

Technology

  • Premix Burners: Gas and air are mixed before reaching the combustion head.
    • Pros: Extremely clean combustion, compact flame.
    • Cons: Risk of flashback, requires precise control.
  • Nozzle Mix Burners: Gas and air mix at the point of ignition.
    • Pros: Stable, safe, high turndown ratios.
    • Cons: Slightly longer flame, potentially higher NOx if not staged.

Solutions

  • Natural Gas: Standard for most boilers and furnaces.
  • LPG (Propane): Used as backup or in remote areas without pipelines.
  • Biogas: Requires special stainless steel components to handle corrosive H2S (Hydrogen Sulfide) often found in landfill or digester gas.

2. Oil Burners (Light & Heavy Oil)

Oil burners are essential where gas is unavailable or as a backup fuel. The key challenge is atomization—breaking liquid fuel into a fine mist.

Technology

  • Pressure Jet Atomization: High-pressure pump (20+ bar) forces oil through a tiny nozzle. Simple but limited turndown.
  • Air/Steam Atomization: Uses compressed air or steam to shear the oil into droplets. Allows for larger nozzle openings and better turndown (up to 8:1).
  • Rotary Cup: A high-speed spinning cup flings oil outwards. Excellent for heavy oils with high viscosity.

Solutions

  • Light Oil (Diesel/#2): clean, easy to store.
  • Heavy Oil (HFO/#6): Cheapest per BTU but requires preheating (to ~100°C) to flow and burn. High maintenance.

3. Dual Fuel Burners

Dual fuel burners can switch between two fuels (usually Gas and Oil) instantly, offering energy security.

Technology

These burners incorporate both a gas manifold and an oil lance in the same combustion head.

  • Changeover: Can be manual or fully automatic via a Building Management System (BMS).
  • Controls: Modern linkageless systems store independent fuel curves for gas and oil, ensuring peak efficiency on both.

Solutions

Ideal for critical facilities like hospitals and district heating plants where downtime is not an option.

4. Biomass & Solid Fuel Burners

With the push for decarbonization, solid biomass burners are gaining traction.

Technology

  • Pellet Burners: Automated feed systems push wood pellets into a grate or retort.
  • Pulverized Fuel: Biomass (wood dust) is ground to a fine powder and blown into the chamber like gas.

Solutions

Used in timber processing plants (burning waste wood) and eco-conscious district heating. They require significantly more maintenance (ash removal) than gas or oil systems.