Fuel sparing: Control of industrial furnaces using process gas as supplemental fuel

Combustible gases from industrial processes can be used to spare purchased fuels such as natural gas and avoid wasteful flaring of the process gases. One of the challenges of incorporating these gases into other furnaces is their intermittent availability. In order to incorporate the gases into a continuously operating furnace, the furnace control system must be carefully designed so that the payload is not affected by the changing fuel. This paper presents a transient computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of an industrial furnace that supplements natural gas with carbon monoxide during furnace operation. A realistic control system of the furnace is simulated as part of the CFD calculation. The time dependent changes in fuels and air injection on the furnace operation is observed. It is found that there is a trade-off between over-controlling the furnace, which results in too sensitive a response to normal flow oscillations, and under-controlling, which results in a lagged response to the fuel change. - Highlights: •Intermittently available process gases used in a continuously operating furnace. •Study shows a trade-off between over-controlling and under-controlling the furnace. •Over-controlling: response too sensitive to normal flow oscillations. •Under-controlling: lagged response to changing fuel composition. •Normal flow oscillations in furnace would not be apparent in steady-state model