A simplified mechanism of hydrogen addition to methane combustion for the pollutant emission characteristics of a gas-fired boiler

The reaction mechanism of hydrogen-enriched methane (HEM) combustion is significant in the combustion process. In this study, four widely used reaction mechanisms for methane combustion are simplified to investigate the pollutant emission characteristics of a gas-fired boiler used for HEM combustion. The laminar burn velocity (LBV) and ignition delay time (IDT) of the four detailed and four simplified mechanisms are compared, and the simplified San Diego mechanism is identified as the optimal mechanism using relative error and population standard deviation analysis. The temperatures and key components of the simplified San Diego mechanism are also compared with those of the detailed San Diego mechanism under various XH2. Based on the simplified San Diego mechanism, a chemical reactor network model for gas-fired boilers is further established to investigate the pollutant emissions of HEM combustion, in which the hydrogen doping ratio XH2 ranged from 0 to 80% and the inlet air and fuel temperature Tin ranged from 300 K to 600 K. Results showed that at Tin = 300 K with XH2 ranging from 0 to 80%, the mole fraction of NO increase by 1.94 times because of the increase in peak flame temperature; moreover, the mole fractions of N2O, CO, and CO2 decrease by approximately 25%, 50%, and 52%, respectively. With XH2 ranging from 0 to 40% and Tin ≥ 500 K, the mole fraction of NO decreases because the reduction reaction of NO + H = N + OH is promoted, whereas when XH2 is further increased to 80%, the increased H promotes the increase in NO again. CO emissions decreased as XH2 increased from 0 to 80%, whereas they increased by approximately 1.3 times as Tin increased from 300 K to 600 K because of the CO2 decomposition. N2O emissions decreased by more than 25% as XH2 increased from 0 to 80%. Additionally, CO2 emissions decrease by 52% with an increase in XH2 and by only 5% with an increase in Tin, indicating that XH2 has a larger impact on CO2 emissions. The proposed optimal HEM combustion mechanism is conducive to improving the efficiency of numerical calculations. © 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC