Processes and apparatuses for heating process fluid in a furnace. Fuel to the furnace is either hydrocarbons or hydrogen. The fuels may be sent to different furnaces or be sent at different times to the same furnace. Furnaces that are configured to receive both types of fuels may have different exhaust paths. An exhaust path for hydrocarbon fuel flue gas includes a carbon capture process zone.

The invention relates to a premixing method for premixing fuel with air prior to the combustion of a fuel/air mixture to allow burners to be operated at high output and with a good load variation range with stable and reliable operation and low NOx emissions. The method comprises: a) creating a rich fuel/air mixture with a fuel/air ratio above an ignitable fuel/air ratio, b) supplying air to the rich fuel/air mixture to obtain an ignitable fuel/air mixture, and c) swirling the ignitable fuel/air mixture obtained in step a) or b). The invention further relates to a premixing device for performing the method.

Disclosed is a gas furnace including a mixer configured to mix air and fuel gas introduced from an intake pipe and a manifold respectively so as to produce an air-fuel mixture, a mixing pipe configured to allow the air-fuel mixture having passed through the mixer to flow therein, a burner assembly configured to combust the air-fuel mixture having passed through the mixing pipe so as to generate combustion gas, heat exchangers configured to allow the combustion gas to flow therein, an exhaust pipe configured to discharge exhaust gas, which is the combustion gas having passed through the heat exchangers, to the outside. The gas furnace further includes a recirculator installed around the exhaust pipe and configured to guide a portion of the exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust pipe to the mixer, and may thus greatly reduce or fundamentally block NO.sub.x emissions.

A radiative recuperator preheats oxidant and/or fuel for combustion at one or more burners of a furnace. The recuperator includes a duct, at least portions of which comprise a material having a thermal conductivity of greater than 1 W/(m.Math.K), preferably greater than 3 W/(m.Math.K), that receives hot flue gas produced by the burner(s). The duct radiatively transfers heat to oxidant or fuel (for preheating) flowing through one or more metallic pipes disposed in between the duct and an insulating wall.

A burner includes a distal flame holder, first and second fuel nozzles, a fuel and oxidant source, and a mixing tube disposed upstream from the distal flame holder. Fuel emitted from the first fuel nozzle mixes with oxidant from the oxidant source to form a fuel and oxidant mixture to support combustion in the distal flame holder. A non-reactive fluid source such as recirculated flue gas provides a non-reactive fluid for dilution of the fuel and oxidant mixture to prevent flashback.

Burner system for a radiant section of a steam cracking furnace configured to provide heat to the radiant section, the burner system including a fuel inlet and an oxidant inlet, and further comprising an ejector block arranged located within the radiant section and to receive a propellant and a propelled fluid and arranged to premix said propellant with said propelled fluid.

Disclosed is a gas furnace including a mixer configured to mix air and fuel gas introduced from an intake pipe and a manifold respectively so as to produce an air-fuel mixture, a mixing pipe configured to allow the air-fuel mixture having passed through the mixer to flow therein, a burner assembly configured to combust the air-fuel mixture having passed through the mixing pipe so as to generate combustion gas, heat exchangers configured to allow the combustion gas to flow therein, an exhaust pipe configured to discharge exhaust gas, which is the combustion gas having passed through the heat exchangers, to the outside. The gas furnace further includes a recirculator installed around the exhaust pipe and configured to guide a portion of the exhaust gas flowing in the exhaust pipe to the mixer, and may thus greatly reduce or fundamentally block NOx emissions.

A method for reducing harmful gas emissions from a gas-fired boiler including a sealed forced-draught combustion chamber in which there is a burner to which there leads a first conduit for drawing in combustion air and from which there departs a second conduit for the discharge of combustion flue gases. Provision is made for drawing off a portion of the flue gases or exhaust gases from the second conduit and injecting it into the combustion air to reduce the percentage of atmospheric oxygen present in that combustion air and consequently reduce the production of harmful gases in the combustion flue gases. A boiler operating according to the aforesaid method is also disclosed.

A combustion system such as a furnace or boiler includes a perforated reaction holder configured to hold a combustion reaction that produces very low oxides of nitrogen (NOx).

A horizontally-fired burner system includes, in a combustion volume, a distal flame holder, the distal flame holder including a plurality of columns each formed from a respective plurality of refractory tiles, and a fuel and combustion air source configured to output a flammable fuel and air mixture toward the distal flame holder. The distal flame holder is configured to hold a combustion reaction adjacent to each of the plurality of columns.