CONSTRUCTION OF TWO FACE INDUSTRIAL GAS BURNER

1.1 Introduction

The construction of a two-face gas burner as a project topic that we embark upon become necessary as a way of way of putting into application the engineering and technological knowledge acquired so far. It is a starting point of actualizing a functional technology in the country. Irrespective of the fact that there are several breads of gas burners in the market, especially the ones imported, we deemed it necessary to work further on it as a way of modifying the brand with cast not left out in such modification.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Fuel burning devices are devices that produce heat (thermal energy), derived from burning fuel and required for technological processes especially in the industry (Kittle, 2000). There are so many types of burners with different fuel types. Examples of such fuel are the biodiesel, ethanol, vegetable oil etc. Burning devices that make use of this fuel are classified as the oil burners, liquid fuel burners, and the combined gas liquid fuel burners. Apart from its classification by the type of fuel used, a burner can also be designed based on factors like the combustion chamber geometry, type of oxidizer and also heat transfer requirements which include flame temperature and heat distribution etc. Typical examples of burners which are developed based on the type of oxidizer are the oxy-fuel burner and air fuel burner (Baukal, 2014).

Various works relating to the construction and testing of burners were studied, they include: Development of a high velocity burner for furnace operation. The main components of this burning device are the burner nozzle, mixing tube, downstream section and a cross-connected regulator for air fuel ratio control. It employs forced draft in mixing the fuel and air (Ighodalo, 2010). Design, Construction and Performance Evaluation of a Biogas Burner, the work was geared towards modification and improvement of the burner and its efficiency (Obada, 2018). Porous Radiant Burners which make use of liquid petroleum gas were also developed and tested for cooking applications (Mishra et al., 2013). Other authors studied the Design and Construction of Atmospheric Gas Burners where they dwelt most on theory of flow of gas through different types of orifice (Walter, 2017).

In University of Maiduguri’s Faculty of Arts, burners of different types have been constructed for use in the kiln for firing or drying of things such as the bricks. A typical example is a burner that uses kerosene only as its fuel. The burner is made up of the nozzle, manual pump, hose and the fuel tank. The pressure required for ignition is supplied by the manual pump which is fixed at a small opening on the fuel tank. Kerosene then passes through the nozzle as it comes in contact with heat supplied by the rings in the kiln. This type of burner is classified as a liquid fuel burner.

Similarly, a burner that uses only used or waste engine oil has its fuel tank located at a certain height and uses electricity which powers the electric motor and helps rotate the blower which supplies the air required for combustion as the used engine oil flows through the burner. Despite the presence of the few types of burner, they are not constructed for carrying out foundry applications. Also, considering the availability of used engine oil, there stems the need to construct an admixture burner for the purpose of carrying out foundry operations.

This research work therefore presents the result of the design, construction and test of a two-faced gas burner for users as an alternative to electric burners. The construction of a two-face gas burner will go a long way in achieving portability of gas burners and also enable asynchronous usage as two objects can be placed on the burner at the same time. It is a starting point of actualizing a functional technology in the country. Irrespective of the fact that there are several breads of gas burners in the market, especially the ones imported, we deemed it necessary to work further on it as a way of modifying the brand with cast not left out in such modification.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Construction of Two Face Industrial Gas Burner.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

In an effort to develop an economical means of cooking, different people and institutions have come up with different designs and innovations of cooking gadgets. Nevertheless, each design comes up with its peculiar limitation especially with reference to the environment in which it is being used. A look at the different types of burners available helped us to understand the importance of this particular work. Many burners currently in the market are single faced. With this, cooking slows down since one thing must be cooked before the other is started. This causes wastage of time and resources.

Although there are already developed two face burners in the market, most of them do not utilize the principle of minimal gas combustion. Since they are two faced, they waste more fuel than required. This study tends to curb the current problem by designing a two face gas burner capable of asynchronous usage, generate minimal heat and minimize fuel usage.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to construct a Two Face Industrial Gas Burner. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To construct a burner that does not pose health risk to the user and is environment friendly, i.e. applies complete combustion of gas.
2. To design a burner that will be safe, simple and easy to operate and maintain.
3. To design a burner that will be able to produce enough useful heat with minimum energy loss.

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1.5 Significance of Study

This work will be of great importance to those in cooking industry as it will help improve combustion process. Specifically,

1. The study would fasten the cooking process as the two face burners can be used alongside each other.
2. It can be used for commercial purposes (restaurants and Hotels) since the gas cylinder is designed to contain large quantity of kerosene which can burn for a longer period of time.
3. It does not form soot on the utensil used on it since the atomization and vaporization of the gas helps it to burn properly in the presence of oxygen.

This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.6 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Design and Construction of Two Face Industrial Gas Burner. This paper presents the redesign of a two face burner that uses High Static Gas burner (HSG) product to mix the gas and air mixture before it is ignited. This burner operates in firing range of 60,000-400,000 Btu/hr. The objective of redesigning the burner is to improve the overall performance of the burner. This design project deals with the port of a powered gas burner utilizing both natural and propane gases. The port function in a powered gas burner is to initiate the fuel gas into an air stream. The redesigned burner port increases combustion efficiency by 3% compared to the original burner. This new burner operates within a wider range of excess air of 5% on both the lean and rich side while still igniting reliably and keeping the CO levels under 400 ppm. The redesigned burner design meets all the criteria of the American National Standards Institute ANSI Z21.17 standard for domestic gas conversion burners. The redesigned burner was machined out of 304 stainless steel which makes the burner head have corrosion resistant properties this includes using corrosion resistant fasteners.

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1.7 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).