Patent Application
20090202953
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1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of waste product combustion. More specifically, the present invention comprises a glycerin burning system having a specialized atomizing nozzle for the combustion of glycerin.
2. Description of the Related Art
Glycerin, or glycerol, is a byproduct of biodiesel and soap manufacturing. Although there are various uses for pure glycerin, the increase in demand for biodiesel has resulted in the production and stockpiling of large quantities of crude glycerin. This trend is expected to continue.
Currently there is a need for effective combustion systems for the disposal and heat recovery of glycerin. The most effective glycerin combustion systems typically require a substantial amount of combustion enhancer (an alternate fuel source) to be added to the glycerin in order to achieve the complete combustion of the glycerin. This adds significant cost to the process.
Existing burners cannot burn pure glycerin because the combustion air speed produced by conventional burners exceeds the flame propagation speed of the air-glycerin mixture. Even if one is able to instantaneously ignite the air-glycerin mixture the flame will be quickly blown away by the burner. This phenomenon is a major obstacle to the development of effective glycerin combustion systems.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a glycerin burning system which is not costly to operate and is capable of completely combusting a feed of crude or pure glycerin.
The present invention comprises a glycerin burning system having a specialized atomizing burner capable of combusting a continuous feed of crude or pure glycerin. The burner includes a two-fluid mixing nozzle or a one fluid impingement nozzle. The nozzle has an internal distributor which mixes two fluid feed streams (glycerin and air) as the fluids are expelled through an orifice. The distributor has channels which cause the air to swirl before mixing with the glycerin. An impingement pin is provided outside the orifice to diffuse the mixture and reduce combustion air speed.
To improve performance, the burner's air feed line exchanges heat with the combustion chamber to preheat the air passing through the feed line before the air is mixed with the glycerin. In addition, a flame retention head is employed on the burner to improve combustion efficiency. Alternate air diversion methods are also proposed for reducing combustion air speed.
In the preferred embodiment, the combustion chamber is first heated to a designated operating temperature by combusting a mixture of glycerin and alcohol before switching to a feed of pure raw glycerin. Upon cessation of combustion operations, the system is purged with water.
The present invention, glycerin burning system 10 is illustrated in
Water is used to purge burner 20, thus cleaning the internal components thereof, upon the cessation of combustion operations. Water is supplied to burner 20 though water feed 52. Purge fluid solenoid 42 regulates the flow of water to burner 20. Like the starter fuel, an exterior pump supplies water to water feed 52.
Air is supplied to burner 20 by a burner air blower. As mentioned previously, a portion of this air feed is directed into the conduit wrapping around the combustion chamber. The other portion is fed into air tube 32. Turning to
With the various components of the glycerin burning system now described, operation of the glycerin burning system will be described in greater detail. During start-up, starter fuel is fed to burner 20 through starter feed 50. The starter fuel passes through check valve 48 and into manifold 46 before passing through fuel feed 38. Ignition transformer 44 produces a spark as the starter fuel exits nozzle 22. Starter fuel is fed to burner 20 for a sufficient period of time to heat the combustion chamber to the desired temperature.
When the desired temperature is reached, fuel pump 28 feeds fuel to manifold 46 through check valve 40. In order to do this, fuel cutoff solenoid 30 is moved to the open position. The fuel is fed to nozzle 22 where it is atomized and combusted. Check valve 48 prevents the fuel from being forced into starter feed 50.
Upon cessation of combustion operations, fuel cutoff solenoid 30 is moved to the closed position and purge fluid solenoid 42 is opened. Water or other purging fluid is fed to burner 20 via water feed 52. The water passes through purge fluid solenoid 42 into manifold 46. The water then passes out of burner 20 through fuel feed 38 and nozzle 22. This cleans the internal components of burner 20 and nozzle 22 to insure that burner 20 and nozzle 22 will last many burning cycles without “gumming up.” Check valve 40 and check valve 48 prevent the purge fluid from passing back into the fuel and starter fluid feed lines.
The preceding description contains significant detail regarding the novel aspects of the present invention. It should not be construed, however, as limiting the scope of the invention but rather as providing illustrations of the preferred embodiments of the invention. For example, components of the present invention, such as nozzle 22, may be useful in other applications. Thus, the scope of the invention should be fixed by the following claims, rather than by the examples given.
