Techniques for controlling a solid fuel combustion appliance, e.g., a wood burning stove, are disclosed. A control system measures an exhaust gas temperature of airflow through an outlet of the solid fuel combustion appliance. The control system determines a derivative of the exhaust gas temperature with respect to time. The derivative of the exhaust gas temperature with respect to time is compared to a predetermined threshold. The control system modulates the inlet damper in response to determining that the derivative of the exhaust gas temperature with respect to time reaches the predetermined threshold.

Exhaust sensors for use with residential solid fuel-burning appliances are disclosed. In one example, a sensor apparatus includes an optical sensor, a lens, and first and second light sources positioned adjacent to the optical sensor. The first light source is configured to emit a first light signal towards a target area of an exhaust gas stream. The second light source is configured to emit a second light signal towards the target area. The optical sensor is configured to detect a light signal comprising at least one of a reflected portion of the first and second light signals and a diffracted portion of the first and second light signals. The sensor apparatus also includes a processor configured to determine a concentration of smoke particles in the exhaust gas stream based on the detected light signal.

A burner includes an atomizing chamber, a flame tube in front of the atomizing chamber adapted to direct combusting fuel introduced by the atomizing chamber along an interior of the flame tube, and a controller. The controller is programmed to independently control rate of fuel flow to the atomizing chamber, rate of atomizing air flow to the atomizing chamber, and rate of combustion air to the flame tub. The controller is also programmed to perform operations including regulating, based on output of a gas sensor, at least the rate of combustion air to the flame tube to substantially maintain a first predetermined amount of excess air in the flame tube.

A control system for adjusting total air flow or oxygen in flue gas for a fossil fired power generating or steam generating unit, that includes a plurality of sensors that supply data to a tunable controller adapted to sense total air flow and/or oxygen flow; with the sensors also supplying data relating to carbon monoxide (CO) and/or combustibles and/or loss of ignition (LOI) and/or carbon in ash (CIA), and where the tunable controller can set a desired target or target range for at least one of CO, combustibles, CIA, or LOI and adjust the total air flow and/or O2 via direct control or bias signals. The system can respond to discrete events, analog events and/or thresholds.

The dry oxygen content in the exhaust of an industrial furnace may be controlled to 1% or less by determining one or more of: the temperature of: each or a group of one or more burner (flame); one or more section of the radiant walls adjacent (e.g., within 5 feet of the burner); the temperature gradient across the process coils; the combustion products of one or more burners; the mass flow rate or the volume flow rate of air to each burner (e.g., the pressure drop across the variable forced air aperture ii) comparing the result to said target value; and iii) adjusting either a) the opening of the variable forced air aperture; or b) adjusting the mass flow rate or the volume flow rate of air from said one or more fans.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for low-CO.sub.2 emission combustion of liquid fuel with a gas-assisted liquid fuel oxygen reactor. The system comprises an atomizer that sprays fuel and CO.sub.2 into an evaporation zone, where the fuel and CO.sub.2 is heated into a vaporized form. The system comprises a reaction zone that receives the vaporized fuel and CO.sub.2. The system includes an air vessel having an air stream, and a heating vessel adjacent to the air vessel that transfers heat to the air vessel. The system comprises an ion transport membrane in flow communication with the air vessel and reaction zone. The ion transport membrane receives O.sub.2 permeating from the air stream and transfers the O.sub.2 into the reaction zone resulting in combustion of fuel. The combustion produces heat and creates CO.sub.2 exhaust gases that are recirculated in the system limiting emission of CO.sub.2.

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for low-CO.sub.2 emission combustion of liquid fuel with a gas-assisted liquid fuel oxygen reactor. The system comprises an atomizer that sprays fuel and CO.sub.2 into an evaporation zone, where the fuel and CO.sub.2 is heated into a vaporized form. The system comprises a reaction zone that receives the vaporized fuel and CO.sub.2. The system includes an air vessel having an air stream, and a heating vessel adjacent to the air vessel that transfers heat to the air vessel. The system comprises an ion transport membrane in flow communication with the air vessel and reaction zone. The ion transport membrane receives O.sub.2 permeating from the air stream and transfers the O.sub.2 into the reaction zone resulting in combustion of fuel. The combustion produces heat and creates CO.sub.2 exhaust gases that are recirculated in the system limiting emission of CO.sub.2.

A modulating burner apparatus includes a variable speed blower feeding a multi-chamber burner having first and second burner chambers. A manifold system communicates the blower with the burner, and a flow control valve member is located between the blower and the second chamber of the burner. The flow control valve is configured to provide fuel and air mixture from the blower to only the first burner chamber at lower blower speeds of the blower and to both the first and second burner chambers at higher blower speeds of the blower.

A modulating burner apparatus includes a variable speed blower feeding a multi-chamber burner having first and second burner chambers. A manifold system communicates the blower with the burner, and a flow control valve member is located between the blower and the second chamber of the burner. The flow control valve is configured to provide fuel and air mixture from the blower to only the first burner chamber at lower blower speeds of the blower and to both the first and second burner chambers at higher blower speeds of the blower.

A purge time of a combustion space is optimized in a multi-burner system having a combustion chamber in which the combustion space is physically separated from a heating space by providing a combustion controlling device. The combustion controlling device controls an operation of multiple burners having combustion spaces different from each other, a first prepurge time and a second prepurge time set as execution times of a single purge, the single purge based on the first prepurge time is performed on a combustion space of a corresponding burner after overall purge when an ignition of the burner is instructed in a state where none of the burners is ignited, and the single purge based on the second prepurge time is performed on the combustion space of the corresponding burner when the ignition of the burner is instructed in a normal operating state.