High Output Metal Fiber Surface Combustion Systems

The nanoSTAR industrial gas turbine burner, developed in conjunction with the California Energy Commission, Department of Energy, and a major turbine manufacturer, demonstrated 2.5 ppm NOx in full-scale testing

ALZETA nanoSTAR Industrial Gas Turbine Burner

The ALZETA CSB high capacity, rugged metallic surface burner achieves ultra low NOx performance in firetube and watertube boilers.

ALZETA CSB High Capacity, Ultra Low NOx Burner

The Pyromat metal fiber radiant burner panel provides precise control of heat flux in paper dryers, furnaces, and other applications.

An ALZETA Pyromat Burner panel array for Paper Drying

Several metallic burner materials are available from ALZETA^®. Most popular is our CSB^™ which is widely used to achieve ultra-low NOx in boilers. With a heat release of over 1 million Btu/hr-ft²(3 MW/m²), this burner can easily fit in most combustion chambers, while maintaining a volumetric heat release rate similar to conventional boiler burners. To increase overall capacity, ALZETA simply adds more surface area—combustion systems as large as 150 million Btu/hr (44 MW) have been built. In operation, the burner appears as a uniform blanket of short flame, extending 1 to 3 inches from the surface.

Although primarily used for achieving ultra-low NOx, the CSB^™ is ALZETA’s “all purpose” combustion surface. It is fabricated in cylindrical, conical, or flat forms, and the heat release matches the needs of many commercial and industrial processes. It is also known for its fuel flexibility, achieving similar heat release rates and NOx emissions whether burning natural gas, propane, or low Btu digester gas or biogas.

ALZETA’s Pyromat™ burner is a metal version of our ceramic Duratherm™, in that combustion is “flameless” with a high fraction of radiation heat transfer. Heat flux is also similar—from about 20,000 Btu/hr-ft²(63 kW/m²), to 120,000 Btu/hr-ft²(380 kW/m²). However, being a metal fiber surface, the Pyromat™ is ideal for processes where the gas burner is exposed, such as paper web drying, or tunnel or rooftop furnaces.

The nanoSTAR^™ burner combines features of both the Pyromat and CSB—a heat release of up to 1 million Btu/hr-ft²(3 MW/m²), constructed as a sintered metal fiber burner surface. It has significant advantages for gas turbines, in that NOx emissions are less than 3 ppm, and the 2 to 3 inch long flame is unchanged regardless of combustion pressure. What does change is heat release—as output increases with pressure. A nanoSTAR injector/burner for a 10 atmosphere turbine will have a heat release of 10 million Btu/hr-ft²(31 MW/m²). These burners are constructed in one piece to fit within a turbine’s combustion chamber. Systems will typically have from six to fourteen injectors immediately upstream of the power turbine.