On the Stability and Characteristics of

Biogas/Methane/Air Flames Fired by a Double Swirl

Burner
A. Abdulnaim
Helwan University
A. Elkholy
Helwan University
M. Elmously
Helwan University
H. Moneib
Helwan University
W. L. Roberts
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)
A. M. Elbaz (  ayman.elhagrasy@kaust.edu.sa )
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)

Research Article

Keywords: Biogas, Double-Swirl Burner, Lean Blow-off Limit, Unburned Hydrocarbons

Posted Date: April 6th, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2771485/v1

License:   This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Abstract
CO2-diluted methane fuel is relevant to biogas combustion applications. Despite its poor heating value
and low reactivity, which limit its practical applicability, biogas gains popularity as a renewable fuel.
However, implementing it in combustion systems requires either modifying or replacing the existing
burners. This study investigates the stability, temperature field, and pollutant emissions of CH4/CO2/air-
premixed flames fired by a double-swirl burner. A CH4/air mixture of equivalence ratio, Φout was used in
the outer stream, while a CH4/CO2/air mixture was supplied to the inner stream. The CO2 mole
fraction, 𝒳 CO2, in the inner fuel blend varied from 0 to 0.4 for various inner stream equivalence
ratios, Φin. The stability diagram of these flames was mapped in terms of Φin verses 𝒳 CO2 for a
fixed Φout. Based on the stability map, the inflame temperature field was investigated for six flames.
Increasing the %CO2 in the biogas modifies the stability map by increasing the inner stream lean blow-off
limits. However, increasing Φout sustains the flame stability, while reducing the CO2 increases the overall
flame below off equivalence ratio. Flame size growth with increasing 𝒳 CO2 requires a longer residence
time for efficient combustion. The addition of CO2 physically and chemically affects the thermal flame
structure, and hence the pollutant emissions. In this burner, ultra-low NOX emission was reported, while an
increase in the CO and UHC, with increasing 𝒳 CO2 was observed. However, the results show that, for a
given 𝒳 CO2, controlling Φin and Φout could reduce CO and UHC emissions.

1. Introduction
Biogas outfitting from landfill/waste methanization is a renewable and biodegradable clean energy
source that can be used similarly to natural gas (NG) for electricity generation, heating, or as a
transportation fuel, which makes it a versatile and sustainable energy option. In this respect, it is worth
noting that the East Natuna gas field is one of the world's greatest gas reserves. However, it has a high
CO2 content, reaching up to 71%, which limits its development (Suhartanto et al. 2001). Looking at the
total gaseous fuel supply trends in the various scenarios up to 2050, a significant role of biogas with a
growing share can be noted (IEA 2022). Controlling and optimizing combustion systems when dealing
with new fuels is a priority, not only to avoid flame instabilities but also to improve combustion efficiency,
guarantee flame stabilization, and reduce pollutant emissions. Biogas composition widely varies
depending on the treated materials and treatment process; see (Calbry-Muzyka et al. 2022). Biogas
comprises mainly methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), and other trace gases such as hydrogen (H2),
nitrogen (N2), and sulfur (S) compounds. The percentage of carbon dioxide in the biogas determines its
grade, and it usually varies from 25–50% by volume. The biogas could be upgraded to biomethane with
more than 96% methane by volume (Deng, Liu, and Wang 2020).

The CO2 in biogas results in lower heating values and flammability limits compared to natural gas -
reducing the flame stability. The consequences of CO2 dilution on the hydrocarbon fuels combustion in
premixed and non-premixed flames have been investigated (Zeng et al. 2015; Saediamiri, Birouk, and
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Kozinski 2014). The CO2 dilution resulted in: (1) reducing the reactivity of the mixture via decreasing the
concentration of the reactive species; (2) reducing the flame temperature; and (3) a chemical kinetic
effect, i.e., reducing the overall reactivity (Du, Axelbaum, and Law 1991). Consequently, the CO2 content of
biogas introduces challenges to the biogas combustion performance as represented by flame instability,
flame speed, temperature, and pollutant emissions. For instance, it is reported that increasing CO2 content
in premixed biogas/air mixtures increases the mixture ignition delay time and reduces the flame speed
(Zeng et al. 2015). In non-premixed jet flames, the higher dilution of CO2 reduces the flame speed and
hence increases the lift-off height of the flame (less flame stability) (Nada, Matsumoto, and Noda 2014).
The combustion of biogas emits lower nitrogen oxides (NOX) and higher carbon monoxide (CO) for
particular gas compositions and burner configurations. However, low NOX and CO emissions can be
achieved simultaneously by adjusting the operating conditions. That being said, it is typically difficult to
simultaneously reduce both NOX and CO concentrations in most dry low-emission (DLE) swirl burners
(Nemitallah et al. 2019). Also, biogas swirl flames showed relatively lower NOX emissions than pure
methane flames due to the relatively low biogas flame temperature. However, CO and UHC emissions
from biogas flames are somewhat higher than pure methane flames, especially in very lean conditions
(Aravind et al. 2021). As a result, biogas could potentially be used as an alternative fuel in industrial gas
turbine combustors if the high level of CO emissions could be eliminated (Hoda et al. 2021).

On the other hand, swirling flow is widely used to stabilize the flame in most practical applications and
for power-generating systems. In these systems, the burners are operated near the lean limit to achieve
low emissions, increasing their risk of flame blow-off while using low-reactive fuels such as biogas.
Moreover, the lower heating values of the biogas relative to hydrocarbon fuels require higher flow rates
than those used with conventional hydrocarbon fuels. Therefore, any variation in the fuel composition
and/or flow rates can negatively alter the combustor efficiency and performance. The stabilization of the
methane flame with 40% CO2 fuel dilution was not achievable in previous literature (Leung and Wierzba
2008). As a result, research into the combustion of biogas under swirling flow is required to get a better
knowledge of its behavior and improve its use as an alternative energy source. This knowledge is critical
for practical applications such as planning and optimizing industrial biogas combustion systems, as well
as minimizing the environmental impact of biogas combustion. There is currently a scarcity of data on
the combustion of turbulent biogas-air flames. In this context, understanding the flame stability, structure,
and emissions are essential steps to further develop the use of biogas as a sustainable energy source.

Based on the available literature, the key issues on biogas combustion are the flame blow-off limit and
CO and UHC emissions. Thus, the current work aims to co-fire biogas with methane in a double-swirl
burner and investigate flame stability, temperature fields, and pollutant emissions. This burner was
recently utilized to co-fire another low-reactive fuel (ammonia) with methane, and the results revealed
stable and low-NOX flames with high combustion efficiency. This is attributed to the precise control of the
inner and outer equivalence ratios, as well as the volume fraction of ammonia in the inner stream fuel as
recently shown by Elbaz et al. 2022. Designing a stable, low-emissions combustor for biogas/methane
co-firing is essential. Firstly, the flame stability plot was mapped under various outer stream equivalence
Page 3/20
ratios, Φout, and various xCO in the inner mixture, where xCO represents the mole fraction of the CO2 in
2 2

the methane used in the inner mixture. Then, based on the stability map, the thermal structure of flames
under selected conditions was studied via direct flame imaging and in-flame temperature measurements.
Finally, NOX, CO, and UHC emissions over various inner stream equivalence ratios, Φin, and xCO were 2

measured for a given value of Φout.

2. Experimental Setup
2.1 Burner and combustor
The double-swirl burner used in this study is illustrated in Fig. 1a, while the whole experimental setup is
sketched in Fig. 1b. More details about the burner can be found elsewhere (Elbaz et al. 2022); here, a brief
is given. The burner consists of two co-axial swirling streams concentric with a 45o central bluff body; the
bluff body diameter is 13 mm. As shown, the outer swirler is fitted with a 15o diverging quarl. The
existence of the diverging quarl enhances flame stabilization by triggering a large recirculation zone (Liu
et al. 2017; Elbaz and Roberts 2016). The swirl motion is imparted in the inner and outer streams via
individual 3D-printed metal axial swirlers with a blade angle of 30o. The two swirlers are located 40 mm
upstream of the burner exit, and their dimensions are shown in Fig. 1. According to the swirling number
formula provided by (Beér and Chigier 1983), the inner and outer swirlers lead to different swirl numbers,
S, of approximately 0.41 and 0.49, respectively. The effects of the inner and outer stream swirl numbers
on the flow field, flame stability, and emissions are currently being investigated, and the results will be
presented in a subsequent publication. A combustor of 185⋅185⋅300 mm confines the flame. The
combustor side walls are equipped with rectangular quartz windows to facilitate optical access to the
flame and future laser-based measurements. The combustion chamber ends with a converging flange
into a 60 mm circular exhaust tube.
2.2 Experimental techniques/test conditions
As shown in Fig. 1b, various CO2/CH4/air-premixed mixtures were used for the inner swirl. The mole
fraction of CO2 in the inner stream mixture, xCO , was defined based on the fuel composition, i.e.,
2

CO2/CH4 blend (to represent the biogas composition), and is defined as xCO 2
= VCO / (VCO
2 2
+ VCH )
4
,
where VCO and VCH are the volume flow rates of CO2 and CH4 in the inner stream, respectively. The
2 4

outer stream, on the other hand, provides a lean CH4/air-premixed mixture to enhance the overall flame
stability. The flow rates of CO2 (purity > 99.98%), CH4 (purity > 99.99%), and air were controlled and
metered by SIARGO digital mass flow meters of models MF5706 and MF5712, respectively, with an
accuracy of ±(2.0 + 0.5FS)%. The inner and outer premixed mixtures were fed to two settling chambers at
the bottom of the burner. The inner stream air bulk jet velocity was kept constant at Ua,in = 4 and 5 m/s,
whereas the outer stream bulk velocity was kept constant at Uout = 3.2 m/s. These values of velocities
were based on the corresponding airflow and the corresponding exit tube area; see the dimension in Fig.
1.

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The in-flame temperatures were measured via an uncoated 125 µm diameter fine wire type S (Pt/10%Rh-
Pt) thermocouple. The thermocouple reading was acquired using a USB to PC universal thermocouple
connector (Omega UTC-USB) provided with TRH central software, which records the readings with a
frequency of 1 Hz and averages the temperature over 20 seconds with 20 measurements. It is worth
mentioning that due to the small diameter of the thermocouple, the reported temperature was not
corrected for the radiation error (Lockwood and Moneib 1982). The thermocouple was placed on a 3-D
translation mechanism to scan the radial and axial temperature profiles. During the temperature
measurements, one of the combustion chamber side quartz windows was replaced with another window
with vertically aligned holes to allow the insertion of the thermocouple in the flame. The temperature was
measured from an axial distance of Z = 10 to 60 mm and radially from x = 0 to 55 mm. Direct flame
images were taken by a 16.2-megapixel NIKON camera model D5100 and a shutter speed of 0.25 s. The
exhaust flue gasses were sampled from the exhaust circular tube downstream of the flame using a
stainless steel water-cooled probe with an ID of 0.7 mm. The gas sample passed through a water
separator and particulate trap filter and then connected to a Zhongan S360 gas analyzer, with the ability
to measure O2 NOX, CO, and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC).

Table 1 summarizes the different phases of the current study. The experimental program comprises four
phases: (i) flame stability mapping; (ii) flame appearance; (iii) in-flame temperature measurements; and
(iv) exhaust gas analysis. This table is referenced in each subsection of the results to explain the
corresponding flow conditions for each stage.

Table 1 The phases of the experimental program and their associated operating conditions

3. Results And Discussion

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3.1 Flame stability
Before mapping the flame stability limits, the combustion chamber was fired with a premixed CH4/air
mixture in the two streams until approaching steady-state chamber wall temperature. The CO2 mole
fraction in the inner stream fuel, xCO , was varied from 0 (pure methane) to 0.4 with an increment of 0.1
2

(to cover a wide range of biogas composition). For a given xCO and outer stream equivalence ratio, Φout,
2

the inner stream equivalence ratio, Φin, was reduced by decreasing the inner stream fuel flow rate until the
flame was blown-off. Blow-off refers to the minimum Φin, i.e., the lean blowout limit, to have a stable
flame. This procedure was conducted for Ua,in = 4 and 5 m/s, Uout = 3.2 m/s, at Φout = 0.45, 0.55, and
0.65. The flame blow-off point on the stability map was repeated at least three times, and the standard
deviation in the results appeared as an error bar on the plots.

Figure 2a depicts the stability diagram in terms of Φin verses xCO at Φout = 0.45, 0.55, and 0.65 for Ua,in
2

= 4 m/s as well as at Φout = 0.55 for Ua,in = 5 m/s. As shown, at a given Φout of 0.45 and Ua,in = 4 m/s,
the lean blow-off limit slightly increases at low xCO but expeditiously increases at high xCO > 0.2. The
2 2

results are consistent with the decrease in the lower biogas flammability limit achieved by increasing the
CO2 mole fraction in the mixture (Pizzuti, Martins, and Lacava 2016). Moreover, it was found that as the
CO2 concentration increased in the biogas, the laminar burning speeds and extinction strain rates
decreased (Qin, Egolfopoulos, and Tsotsis 2001), reducing flame stabilization.

The presence of significant amounts of CO2 in the reaction zone causes several differences in the flame.
The CO2 can impact the flame due to the high molar heat capacity of the CO2 and CO2 dissociation
(chemistry effect). To investigate the relative contributions of CO2 on the dilution and chemistry effects,
we performed a laminar flame speed, SL , simulation in the presence of CO2. In this simulation, we
introduced a new molecule, "FCO2", for "false" CO2. The FCO2 possessed the thermal and transport
characteristics of CO2, but its chemistry was suppressed. The simulation of the flame speed was
performed at different xCO using the PREMIX module of the ANSYS-Chemkin-Pro 19.1 package, with
2

Aramco 1.3 kinetic mechanism. The computational domain was 40 mm, where the adaptive mesh criteria
of 500 grid points were taken with 0.1 for both curvature and gradient.

The effect of the CO2 and FCO2 on the laminar flame speed of a stoichiometric premixed CH4/air flame
(at 1 bar and 298 K) is presented in Fig. 3a. In this plot, the neat CH4/air flame speed is shown by a
horizontal line. One can conclude that SL decreases as the xCO increases. However, as shown, the SL
2

corresponding to FCO2 is higher than that corresponding to CO2 dilution. The difference between the
simulated results with CO2 and FCO2 dilution shows the chemical effects of CO2 as illustrated in Fig. 3a.
As shown, the physical consequences of CO2 impact the flame speed more than the chemical
consequences. In Fig. 3b, we plotted the relative contributions of the physical and chemical effects in
reducing SL. The results show that the chemical effect is less critical when the %CO2 is increased; this
may be due to the lower global temperature, which does not support CO2 dissociation. The sensitivity

Page 6/20
analysis of the flame speed showed that, in the reaction zone, the CO2 slows down the reaction via
participation in the primary oxidation reaction of CO, i.e., CO + OH ↔ CO2 + H. Via this reaction, CO2
competes with the primary branching OH reaction, i.e., H + O2↔ O + OH for the H radical pool (Li et al.
2018; Khan et al. 2021), thus reducing the flame speed.

Consequently, increasing CO2 in the CH4/air mixtures slows the overall reaction rates, dilutes the mixture
stoichiometry, and reduces the mixture's flammability. These factors modify the stability diagram by
increasing the lean blowout equivalence ratio with CO2, as shown in Fig. 2a. It should be noted that these
factors have a limited impact on the flame stabilization at xCO ≤ 0.1. This may be due to the increased
2

radiant emission with the CO2 (Williams, Shaddix, and Schefer 2007) by the strong infrared CO2 bands,
resulting in preheating the mixture upstream of the reaction zone, which can compensate for the
reduction in SL at low CO2 concentrations and extend the lean stability limits. Moreover, increasing Ua,in
for the same Φout shifts the stability limits to higher values, see Φin at Ua,in = 4 m/s versus Φin at Ua,in =
5 m/s for Φout = 0.55 (Fig. 2a), which is attributed to the higher stretch rate. In Fig. 2b, the stability
diagram is re-plotted using the overall mixture equivalence ratio, Φov, (i.e., based on the total fuel and air
supplied to both inner and outer streams) versus xCO . As seen, with the decrease in Φout, there is a shift
2

in the stability limits to lower Φov. But it does not alter the general observation of the stability diagram. As
illustrated in Fig. 2c, at a given xCO , increasing Φout helps stabilize the flame at a lower Φin but increases
2

Φov. This trend suggests the back support of the outer stream to the lean blowout limits via the
recirculated hot gases toward the central flame region. These observations were previously highlighted
while firing LPG in a double-swirl burner (Elbaz et al. 2019).

3.2 Flame appearance

Based on the reported flame stability, seven flames were selected to investigate the change in the flame
appearance, structure with CO2, and the inner stream equivalence ratio. These flames are shown in Fig.
2a by black rhombuses. They are designated as Fx CO
−Φ in ; for instance, flame F1 − 1.1 means flame at
2

xCO
2
= 0.1 and Φin = 1.1. Note that all of these flames are at Ua,in = 5 m/s and Φout = 0.55. The mixture
conditions of these seven flames are listed in Table 1 and described in the following plots.

Figure 4 depicts the direct broadband images of the tested flames; in this plot, the first row shows the
impact of the CO2 dilution ratio on the flame appearance at Φin = 1.1. The second row shows the effects
of Φin at xCO = 0.1. The flames generally show compact V-shaped flames, starting with anchored sharp
2

blue edges from the inner swirling tube and expanding downstream of the burner exit. All the flames are
attached, and there is no predisposition to lift off even with increasing xCO . The flame front is apparent
2

along with the shear layer and broadening downstream. A dimmed blue inner zone is formed centrally,
indicating the formation of an internal recirculation zone. As displayed in the first row, an increase in
xCO increases the flame size in both radial and axial directions, implying the need for a more extended
2

residence for the higher CO2 dilution combustors.

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Moreover, the increased flame size indicates the spreading of the inner rich flame towards the outer lean
stream, which may also explain the rapid decrease in the flame stability for xCO > 0.2. As shown at
2

xCO ≤ 0.2, the intensity of the image gradually increases with increasing xCO ; however, the flame
2 2

faints with the further increase in the xCO . This may be due to the increased CO2 dissociation as
2

CO2+H→CO+OH, where the CO enhances the CO2* production - leading to broadband background
emissions under the CO2 emissions. However, the further increase in CO2 leads to a drop in flame
temperature (as will be discussed later) and suppresses the CO2 dissociation. It is important to note that,
although these flames are at the same Φin and Φov, no attempts are made here to compare these flame
images quantitatively. However, increasing Φin from 1 to 1.2, as shown in the second row, does not
indicate much change in the flame size. But a brighter blue color (more intense chemiluminescence
mainly from the CH* radical) is observed with increasing Φin = 1.2, due to the high hydrocarbon content.

3.3 Thermal structure and exhaust emissions

The inflame temperature measurements were conducted on six flames; five are designated in Fig. 2a of
the stability plot: F0-1.1, F1-1.1, F3-1.1, F1-1.0, and F1-1.2. As mentioned before, Φout of these flames was kept
constant at 0.55. To assess the impact of Φout on the temperature field, an additional flame has been
included with xCO = 0.1, Φin = 1.1 but at Φout = 0.65 (it is designated as F1-1.1-0.65). The mixture
2

compositions of these flames are listed in Table 1. Altogether, these measurements assess the impact of
xCO , Φin , and Φout on the thermal flame structure. The flames' temperature contours are illustrated in Fig.
2

5; one should note that the temperature scale in all subplots is the same. In addition, for the quantitative
comparison, the temperature radial profiles of selected flames are plotted in Fig. 6 at various axial
locations, i.e., at Z = 15 mm in the first row of Fig. 6, and Z= 25 mm and 45 mm in the second row.

Figure 5 indicates a qualitative similarity in the temperature distributions in all the flames. Because of the
swirling flow, an annular high-temperature region develops downstream of the burner exit. This high-
temperature annular region is confined internally and externally close to the burner exit, with relatively
cold spots originating from the inflow jets of the inner and outer streams (identified in Fig. 5a with two
white arrows). The impact of the inflow jets on decreasing the temperature close to the burner exit
increases with increasing xCO . This can be seen in the radial temperature profile at Z = 15 mm, Fig. 6a,
2

where the minimum temperatures are located at x ≈18 mm and 28 mm droped to lower temperature with
increasing xCO . As seen in the flame temperature contours, Figs. 5a-5c, the gradual increase in xCO
2 2

from flames F0-1.1 to F3-1.1 leads to a decrease in the overall flame temperature, delaying the start of the
high-temperature region to further downstream (track the contour of T = 1000 oC). The radial temperature
profiles (Fig. 6a) show a difference in the peak flame temperature of approximately 300 ºC from flame F0-
1.1 to flame F3-1.1, at Z = 15 mm. As shown in Fig. 6b, the peak flame temperature gradually shifts outward
with increasing Z and offers approximately the same maximum temperature at Z = 45 mm.

Enriching the inner stream mixture modifies the flame temperature fields significantly; this can be
understood by closely examining the temperature contours of flames F1-1.0, F1-1.1, and F1-1.2 (Figs. 5d, 5b,

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and 5e, respectively). Increasing Φin leads to broadening the high-temperature region toward the central
flame area. Moreover, as illustrated in Figs. 5c-5d, it extends the high-temperature region for longer
distances downstream of flames F1-1.2 and F1-1.0, with a difference in peak temperatures at Z = 45 mm of
approximately 125 ºC. Increasing Φout increases the overall flame temperature via spreading the high-
temperature zone towards the central and outer flame regions; this could be confirmed by comparing the
temperature contours of flames

F1-11-0.65 and F1-1.1 in Figs. 5f and 5b, respectively, and the radial temperature profiles in Figs. 6e-6f. As
shown in Fig. 5f, the iso-temperature contour of 900 ºC is recorded close to the burner exit along the
central area in flame F1-1.1-0.65.

Figure 7 shows the exhaust NOX concentration versus xCO at a fixed Φin of 1.1 (black plot). Moreover, it
2

shows the impact of Φin on NOX emissions at xCO = 0.1 (red plot), while the Φout was kept constant at
2

0.55. Generally, ultra-low NOX emissions were recorded in this burner over a wide range of operating
conditions, where the thermal-prompt NO dominates the NO formation routes (Miller and Bowman 1989).
As indicated by the temperature contours, the double-swirl arrangement leads to broader temperature
distributions, distributed heat release, and thus lower NOX emissions. The chemical kinetic studies of
CO2/CH4 flames showed that the CO2 fuel dilution reduces the NOX via thermal and chemical effects (Liu
et al. 2001). As discussed before, the higher xCO , the lower the overall flame temperature and reaction
2

rate, and thereby the lower the NOX (a reduction in thermal NO). Moreover, the CO2 participates in
reducing the CH radical pools through reactions such as CO2+CH→HCO+CO - reducing the prompt NOX
pathways. This explains the reduction of the NOX concentration with increasing xCO and its higher
2

values at Φin = 1.2. Whereas at Φin = 1.2, a high flame temperature and hot spots are recorded (see Figs.
5e and 6d), and an abundance of CH radicals is expected.

The following section will discuss the CO and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions at different flame
conditions. Figure 8 illustrates the profiles of CO and UHC verses Φout (Fig. 8a) and xCO (Fig. 8b).
2

Figures 8c-8d show the impact of Φin and Φov on the CO and UHC concentrations at Φout = 0.55 and 0.65.
As shown in Fig. 8a, it is evident that increasing Φout at a given Φin and xCO reduces both CO and UHC
2

significantly. It is worth mentioning that the overall mixture equivalence ratio is still on the lean side with
increasing Φout; however, rising Φout moves the whole mixture towards stoichiometric see Fig. 8d.
Consequently, the reported higher flame temperature with increasing Φout could trigger CO2 dissociation.
The inflame temperature measurements showed an increase in the central flame temperature, where the
CH4/CO2 mixture is injected with increasing Φout (see Fig. 5f, for the flame at Φout = 0.65).

On the other hand, the gradual dilution of the inner fuel stream from xCO = 0.1 to 0.4 resulted in
2

increasing CO and UHC concentrations, as illustrated in Fig. 8b. This also could be noted in Fig. 8c-8d if
compared xCO = 0.1 with 0.3. This increase is expected as lower flame temperatures are known to foster
2

the formation of CO, as a result of quenching of the CO oxidation. In addition, the presence of CO2

Page 9/20
increases the CO mass fraction in the flame zone due to the reaction of CO2 with H radicals (CO2+H↔ CO
+OH) (Zhang, Atreya, and Lee 1992). This reaction competes with the primary OH branching reaction, i.e.,
H + O2 →OH +O for H atoms. This competition reduces the overall reaction rate and thus higher CO and
UHC. The inner stream equivalence ratio alters both CO and UHC, as shown in Fig. 8c. It shows a drastic
decrease in CO and UHC concentration while enriching Φin for a given Φout. This is due to the increase in
the inner zone flame temperature, where the inner recirculation zone can increase the residence time.
Moreover, increasing Φin moves the whole flame mixture towards a higher overall equivalence ratio closer
to stoichiometric, as shown in Fig. 8d, which increases the flame reactivity and widens the mixture
flammability limit, causing less CO and UHC. The impact of enriching Φin in reducing both CO and UHC
concentrations diminishes the impact of Φout, which is understood by reducing the gap between the
CO/UHC plots of Φout = 0.55 and 0.65 shown in Fig. 8c.

A comparison with a single-swirl non-premixed burner from the study by (Zaidaoui et al. 2017)
demonstrates the ability of the current double-swirl burner in terms of reducing pollutant emissions. Both
burners provide extremely low NOX concentrations of up to 2 ppm. However, the single-swirl burner
produced more than 4,000 ppm CO at xCO = 0.12, Φ = 0.8, and S = 0.8 and 1.4, whereas the current
2

double swirl burner manages to reduce the CO concentrations to under 100 ppm at similar working
conditions (xCO = 0.3 (overall = 0.12) and Φov = 0.8). The study emphasizes the importance of the
2

conditions of the lower flame region in controlling CO and UHC when dealing with biogas combustion.
The longer the residence time and the higher the central flame regions result in a stable flame with low CO
and UHC pollutant emissions.

4. Conclusions
This work studied the flame stability, flame structure, and emissions of biogas/CH4/air flames stabilized
in a combustor fired with a double-swirl burner. The inner swirl was supplied with a CH4/CO2/air mixture
(CH4/CO2 mixture acts as a surrogate for biogas). The mole fraction of CO2 in the inner CH4 blend, xCO , 2

varied from 0 to 0.4 over an inner stream equivalence ratio, Φin, ranging from 1 to 1.3. In the outer stream,
a mixture of CH4/air of a mixture equivalence ratio (Φout = 0.45, 0.55, 0.65) was used. In the current
double-swirl combustor, co-firing biogas/CH4 leads to a well-stable flame that can control CO and UHC
emissions with ultra-low NOX emissions. The main conclusions are as follows:

1. At a given Φout, the flame stability diagram was mapped in terms of Φin versus xCO . Increasing
2

xCO
2
retards the lean blow-off limits, and this reduction in the flame stability became significant at
the lower Φout. Increasing xCO alters the flame stability by physically and chemically reducing the
2

flame speed and its overall reactivity.

2. Increasing Φout enhances the flame stability and reduces the impact of the CO2 dilution effect via
increasing the overall mixture equivalence ratio.

Page 10/20
 3. The presence of CO2 in the inner stream resulted in a modification of the flame thermal structure and
the heat release zone. The flames generally became less intense and elongated with increasing CO2
in the inner stream, indicating the need for a larger combustor to increase the residence time.
4. Pollutant measurements at the combustor exhaust show ultra-low NOX emissions due to the thermal
and chemical effects of CO2 and broader temperature distribution.
5. For a given Φin and Φout, increasing xCO increases both CO and UHC via fostering the CO formation
2

due to quenching oxidation reactions and the lower central flame region.
6. For a given xCO , enriching Φin or increasing Φout toward stoichiometric mixture resulted in low levels
2

of both CO and UHC. It was found that enriching Φin has the predominant effect in reducing CO and
UHC concentrations over Φout.

Declarations

Ethical Statement
This material is the author's original work, which has not been previously published elsewhere. The paper
is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere. The paper reflects the author's research and
analysis truthfully and completely. The paper properly credits the meaningful contributions of co-authors
and co-researchers. The results are appropriately placed in the context of prior and existing research. All
sources used are properly disclosed (correct citation). All authors have been personally and actively
involved in substantial work leading to the paper and will take public responsibility for its content.

Funding
The present study has no financial support.

Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval
No specific ethical approval is required for this work.

Informed consent
Not applicable

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Authors Contributions
A. Abdulnaim: Collecting the data, Investigation, Visualization, Formal analysis, Writing the original draft,
A. Elkholy: Investigation, Validation, Formal analysis, Supervision, Visualization, Reviewing and Editing
the original draft, M. Elmously: Investigation, Formal analysis, Review and Edits, H. Moneib: Reviewing
and Editing the original draft, W. L. Roberts: Reviewing and Editing the original draft, and A.M.
Elbaz: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing-original draft, Reviewing and Editing.

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Figures

Figure 1

(a) Double-swirl burner (all dimensions are in mm) and (b) Experimental setup

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Figure 2

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Figure 3

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Figure 4

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Figure 5

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Figure 6

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Figure 7

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Figure 8

CO and unburned hydrocarbon (UHC, plotted in red) at the flue gases at various flame conditions

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