A Numerical Investigation of Stabilized Methane/Air Combustion and Pollutants Formation in Porous Burners

Abstract

The technique of combustion in porous media offers advantages comparing with free flame burners. High burning rates, flame stability, and low pollutant emissions are some of the main characteristics of porous burners. The present work presents numerical simulations of combustion in porous media. A laminar two dimensional model is based on a macroscopic formulation of the transport equations. A 6 step reduced mechanism was utilized to model the chemical kinetics. Finite volume method is used for simulation with a boundary-fitted non-orthogonal coordinate system. A radiant porous burner is simulated and a sensitivity study to the Rosseland mean attenuation coefficient, to the thermal conductivity of the solid and to the porosity is presented. It is shown that the properties of the pre-heating region not affect, significantly, the CO emissions at the exit of the reactor, while the properties of the combustion region has a strong influence.