Gas Research Institute

Thermo Power Corporation

Christopher I Metcalfe

Edward F Doyle

Kailash C Shukla

Keith D Patch

Robert DeSaro

A burner/emitter/recuperator assembly for providing a high temperature radiant emitting surface, includes an elongated fuel pipe in communication with a fuel source and extending toward the combustion chamber, and adapted to flow fuel from the fuel source to a nozzle end of the fuel pipe proximate the combustion chamber, a primary air pipe disposed around the fuel pipe and in communication with a relatively cool primary air source, a nozzle end of the primary air pipe being substantially coincident with the nozzle end of the fuel pipe, and a recuperator for preheating secondary air disposed around a distal portion of the primary air pipe and in communication with a secondary air source and a swirler downstream of the recuperator. The relatively cool air from the primary air source and fuel from the fuel source flow through the primary air pipe and the fuel pipe, respectively, and mix with the hot air from the recuperator and swirler, exterior to the fuel nozzle and the primary air pipe nozzle end, to maintain a relatively cool fuel pipe nozzle end, and a relatively hot flame in the combustion chamber.

Burner and burner/emitter/recuperator assembly for direct energy conversion power sources

An improved method and apparatus for preheating cullet used as feedstock for a glass furnace. A direct contact raining bed is described through which cullet is fed by gravity flow, with furnace flue gases as combustion products of a separately-fired heater passed in counterflow to heat the cullet by direct contact. The preheater includes deflectors to retard passage and increase the path length of cullet flowing through the raining bed, and the deflector plates are mounted at specific declination angles and have their geometric parameters selected to optimize cullet residence time. Glass furnace systems are described which include the raining bed cullet preheater in series and parallel flow relationships with a glass batch preheater.

Growing community of inventors

Walpole, MA, United States of America

Christopher I Metcalfe