Guided by the "double carbon" goal, the chemical industry is facing unprecedented pressure for green transformation. As the core equipment of ethylene production, ethylene cracking furnace produces carbon emissions from the combustion process that cannot be underestimated. Therefore, vigorously promoting the application of hydrogen-rich burners for ethylene cracking furnaces during the equipment renewal process will not only help reduce carbon emissions, but also promote the development of the entire chemical industry towards green and low-carbon.
Compared with traditional burners, hydrogen-rich burners have significant improvements in combustion efficiency and safety. The Changming lamp uses natural gas fuel, which effectively reduces the risk of flashback; the main burner is optimized according to the characteristics of hydrogen-rich fuel. By adjusting the injection speed of fuel gas out of the gun tip, reducing the proportion of primary fuel, and increasing secondary fuel, measures such as quantity ensure the stability and sufficiency of combustion.
Practice in North America and the Middle East has proved that the application of hydrogen-rich burners of ethylene cracking furnaces in ethane-to-ethylene units has achieved remarkable results. In my country, Lanzhou Petrochemical Changqing Ethane to Ethylene Project and Dushanzi Tarim Ethane to Ethylene Project have also successfully applied hydrogen-rich burners, and achieved significant energy conservation and emission reduction effects. Data shows that in just eight months, 10 cracking furnaces have reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 1.5 million tons, which is an impressive achievement.
It is worth mentioning that the hydrogen-rich burner can achieve safe and stable combustion during ignition, fuel switching, flameout, etc., and there are no phenomena such as overfire, flashback, and flash explosion in the entire process. This not only ensures production safety, but also provides a strong guarantee for the stable operation of the company. When the fuel gradually transitions from natural gas to hydrogen-rich fuel, it is only necessary to adjust the fuel pressure to adapt to hydrogen-rich fuel operation. This feature makes the promotion and application of hydrogen-rich burners more convenient.
In addition, some chemical companies are worried that the flame shape after applying hydrogen-rich burners cannot meet the requirements. Such worries are superfluous. CFD simulation calculation, hot test and practical application results all show that the burner does not interfere with the furnace tube during use, and the flame shape fully meets the requirements.
The energy consumption of the ethylene cracking furnace accounts for more than 80% of the total energy consumption of the ethylene plant. Reducing its energy consumption is crucial to achieving energy conservation and emission reduction of the entire ethylene plant. Promoting the application of hydrogen-rich burners in ethylene cracking furnaces will help my country build a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient modern energy system, and also provide useful exploration and practice for the transformation and development of the global energy structure.
Author: Chi Baochun, Deputy General Manager of Jilin Daote Technology Co., Ltd.