Praxair's dilute oxygen combustion technology for pyrometallurgical applications

Dilute oxygen combustion (DOC) technology uses separate high-velocity fuel and oxygen jets to generate strong in-furnace gas recirculation, producing combustion between the fuel and a highly diluted oxygen and furnace-gas mixture. These very low NOx oxy-fuel burners have been developed and commercially demonstrated in steel reheating furnaces.(1) The burner design meets industry needs for increased productivity and lower operating costs with minimal capital expense and low maintenance. The performance of DOC technology has been measured under laboratory and industrial conditions encompassing both natural gas and coke oven gas firing, and a wide range of furnace temperatures and nitrogen levels that simulate air infiltration. This paper describes the results of the rests using natural gas as the fuel and lists potential applications for DOC technology in the non-ferrous metals industry.