Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner

Liquid ammonia (LNH3) spray combustion is considered to achieve zero carbon emissions without the need for a pre-vaporization system, thereby reducing costs. It enables rapid power adjustment to cope with the intermittency of renewable energy sources. However, LNH3 evaporation absorbs energy, loweri...

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Main Authors: Yi-Rong Chen, Gauthier Reibel, Kohei Oku, Hirofumi Yamashita, Akihiro Hayakawa, Taku Kudo, Hisayoshi Ito, K. D. Kunkuma A. Somarathne, Hideaki Kobayashi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Applications in Energy and Combustion Science
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666352X25000512
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author Yi-Rong Chen
Gauthier Reibel
Kohei Oku
Hirofumi Yamashita
Akihiro Hayakawa
Taku Kudo
Hisayoshi Ito
K. D. Kunkuma A. Somarathne
Hideaki Kobayashi
author_facet Yi-Rong Chen
Gauthier Reibel
Kohei Oku
Hirofumi Yamashita
Akihiro Hayakawa
Taku Kudo
Hisayoshi Ito
K. D. Kunkuma A. Somarathne
Hideaki Kobayashi
author_sort Yi-Rong Chen
collection DOAJ
description Liquid ammonia (LNH3) spray combustion is considered to achieve zero carbon emissions without the need for a pre-vaporization system, thereby reducing costs. It enables rapid power adjustment to cope with the intermittency of renewable energy sources. However, LNH3 evaporation absorbs energy, lowering the reaction temperature during fuel/air mixing. Low-temperature NH3 reaction has been shown to produce deleterious substances, such as N2O. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of wall heat loss (low-temperature region) on emissions during LNH3 spray combustion in a swirling burner and compares the results to those from gaseous ammonia combustion. A liner with a cooling air jacket was designed to control the low temperature region by adjusting the air flowrate passing through the cooling cavity. As wall-cooling rose from 0 to 0.8 kW (approximately 0 % to 10 % of the total enthalpy input), overall emissions analyses showed increased unburned NH3 and N2O, alongside a reduction in NO emissions on the fuel-lean side, likely due to flame quenching near the wall and decreased flame temperature. To mitigate the production of harmful emissions under increased heat loss, two-stage combustion was applied. This approach significantly reduced unburned NH3; however, N2O and NO emissions remained comparable to those from single-stage combustion. Moreover, we compared the emissions at the wall and center under fuel-lean conditions, revealing higher NO emissions and near-zero unburned NH3 and N2O emissions at the center under increased cooling air flow, highlighting the influence of wall cooling on overall emissions characteristics.
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spelling doaj-art-971552ac28c541ff91896330c6bf08d22025-08-20T05:07:54ZengElsevierApplications in Energy and Combustion Science2666-352X2025-09-012310037010.1016/j.jaecs.2025.100370Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burnerYi-Rong Chen0Gauthier Reibel1Kohei Oku2Hirofumi Yamashita3Akihiro Hayakawa4Taku Kudo5Hisayoshi Ito6K. D. Kunkuma A. Somarathne7Hideaki Kobayashi8Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan; Corresponding author.Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan; Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan; Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan; Department of Aerospace Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-01 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, JapanInstitute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, JapanLiquid ammonia (LNH3) spray combustion is considered to achieve zero carbon emissions without the need for a pre-vaporization system, thereby reducing costs. It enables rapid power adjustment to cope with the intermittency of renewable energy sources. However, LNH3 evaporation absorbs energy, lowering the reaction temperature during fuel/air mixing. Low-temperature NH3 reaction has been shown to produce deleterious substances, such as N2O. Therefore, this study investigates the effects of wall heat loss (low-temperature region) on emissions during LNH3 spray combustion in a swirling burner and compares the results to those from gaseous ammonia combustion. A liner with a cooling air jacket was designed to control the low temperature region by adjusting the air flowrate passing through the cooling cavity. As wall-cooling rose from 0 to 0.8 kW (approximately 0 % to 10 % of the total enthalpy input), overall emissions analyses showed increased unburned NH3 and N2O, alongside a reduction in NO emissions on the fuel-lean side, likely due to flame quenching near the wall and decreased flame temperature. To mitigate the production of harmful emissions under increased heat loss, two-stage combustion was applied. This approach significantly reduced unburned NH3; however, N2O and NO emissions remained comparable to those from single-stage combustion. Moreover, we compared the emissions at the wall and center under fuel-lean conditions, revealing higher NO emissions and near-zero unburned NH3 and N2O emissions at the center under increased cooling air flow, highlighting the influence of wall cooling on overall emissions characteristics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666352X25000512Ammonia combustionSpray combustionSwirling flamesWall heat loss effectsGas emissions analysisTwo-stage combustion
spellingShingle Yi-Rong Chen
Gauthier Reibel
Kohei Oku
Hirofumi Yamashita
Akihiro Hayakawa
Taku Kudo
Hisayoshi Ito
K. D. Kunkuma A. Somarathne
Hideaki Kobayashi
Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
Applications in Energy and Combustion Science
Ammonia combustion
Spray combustion
Swirling flames
Wall heat loss effects
Gas emissions analysis
Two-stage combustion
title Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
title_full Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
title_fullStr Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
title_full_unstemmed Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
title_short Effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
title_sort effects of wall heat loss on emission characteristics of liquid ammonia spray combustion using a swirling burner
topic Ammonia combustion
Spray combustion
Swirling flames
Wall heat loss effects
Gas emissions analysis
Two-stage combustion
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666352X25000512
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