Control of combustion and pollutant emissions by EGR "Exhaust Gas Recirculation
Résumé
Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) has long been designed, installed, and practiced as a means of dilution and control in many combustion systems [1]. The main objective of this technology lies in the obligation to satisfy current emission regulations based on the reduction of particles emissions and gas pollutants, in particular nitrogen oxides NOx [2]. The dilution by CO2, H2O or EGR can cause flame instabilities, and even blow-outs if the diluents concentrations are important. Oxygen enrichment at small fractions avoids these instabilities [3]. Besides, the increase of CO2 concentration by the EGR and O2 enrichment improves the CO2 capture efficiency [4]. This paper reports some results from the investigation of exhaust gases (water vapour and CO2) recirculation effects, with and without O2 enrichment, on non-premixed turbulent flames stabilized by a swirl burner. We are interested in pollutant emissions, flame stability through the determination of lift-off heights by analysing the emission of OH* radicals and flow fields by PIV measurements. Several parameters of the burner are studied as the swirl number, the global equivalence ratio, and the fractions of O2, H2O and CO2 in the mixture.