Gilles Theis, Ali Gueniche, Christoph Strupp and Chuck Baukal, John Zink Hamworthy Combustion, A Koch Engineered Solutions Company, detail how radiant wall burner technology can combat the issues associated with introducing hydrogen fuels into combustion systems.
H
ydrogen has the potential to be a very important fuel.¹ Global demand for it is increasing rapidly,² and interest in its use as a fuel continues to grow, mostly because it generates water when combusted, with little – if any – carbon dioxide (CO2), depending on how it is produced. Figure 1 shows that the more hydrogen that is present in a fuel, the less CO2 is produced. In the past, using hydrogen as a fuel was only economical in certain applications. Reducing CO2 emissions and concerns about fossil fuel depletion are two major recent drivers for
considering fuels that contain a high percentage of hydrogen for more applications.³ The importance of hydrogen fuel depends on the way in which it is generated.4 Today, large-scale hydrogen production is carried out by steam methane reforming (SMR). SMR furnaces generate CO2 emissions. If those emissions are captured, this is referred to as blue hydrogen. Oil and gas producers are particularly well positioned to produce blue hydrogen, as natural gas is relatively low cost and because those producers have the infrastructure to produce hydrogen.5 If the CO2 is not captured, this then becomes
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