Catalytic burner and hydrogen boiler for water heating

Abstract

A catalytic burner for a hydrogen fueled boiler is provided. The catalytic burner comprises one or more of an inlet port, an outlet port, a fan, and a catalytic section. The catalytic section comprises at least one self-priming catalyst. The fan is successively disposed downstream of inlet port(s) and is configured to simultaneously draw, mix, and feed air and hydrogen to the catalytic section.

1 . A catalytic burner for a hydrogen boiler comprising:
 at least one inlet port for supplying air and hydrogen;   an outlet port for discharging combustion products;   at least one fan for supplying air; and   a catalytic section comprising at least one self-priming catalyst that is configured to initiate and complete a combustion reaction of an air-hydrogen mixture;   wherein the at least one fan is arranged in a fluid connection with the at least one inlet port ( 11 ,  11 ′,  11 ″), and arranged one of subsequently and downstream of said the at least one inlet port; and   wherein the at least one fan is configured to supply air and hydrogen and to simultaneously draw, mix and inject the air and the hydrogen towards the catalytic section.   
     
     
         2 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fan comprises a centrifugal machine with adjustable impeller rotation speed. 
     
     
         3 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fan comprises at least one of a blower machine and an axial fan capable of generating head and flow rate values. 
     
     
         4 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet port comprises a plurality of inlet ports that are configured to be separate inlets of flows of air and hydrogen. 
     
     
         5 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 4 , further comprising a recirculation port to be an inlet of an exhaust gas recovery fraction, defined as recirculation flow. 
     
     
         6 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 5 , further comprising a feed manifold in fluid connection with the at least one fan and configured to convey the flows of air and hydrogen by the plurality of inlet ports. 
     
     
         7 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 6 , wherein the feed manifold is further configured to convey the recirculation flow from the recirculation port into the at least one inlet port. 
     
     
         8 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 4 , wherein the at least one fan comprises at least two inlet ports configured to feed the flows of air and hydrogen directly from the plurality of inlet ports. 
     
     
         9 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 8 , wherein the at least one fan further comprises an intake opening configured to feed a separate flow from a recirculation port. 
     
     
         10 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one fan is configured for use with combustible substances and comprises at least one of spark-proof devices and explosion-proof devices. 
     
     
         11 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , further comprising a diffuser element arranged downstream of the at least one fan and configured to convey the air-hydrogen mixture into the catalytic section. 
     
     
         12 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the catalytic section comprises at least one finishing catalysts. 
     
     
         13 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one self-priming catalyst comprises a honeycomb geometry with a cell density in the range of 100-1200 CPSI. 
     
     
         14 . The catalytic burner according to  claim 1 , wherein the at least one self-priming catalyst comprises a honeycomb geometry with a cell density in the range of 200-600 CPSI. 
     
     
         15 . A boiler plant comprising a catalytic burner, wherein the catalytic burner comprises at least one inlet port for supplying air and hydrogen, an outlet port for discharging combustion products, at least one fan for supplying air, and a catalytic section comprising at least one self-priming catalyst that is configured to initiate and complete a combustion reaction of an air-hydrogen mixture, wherein the at least one fan is arranged in a fluid connection with the at least one inlet port and arranged one of subsequently and downstream of the at least one inlet port, and wherein the at least one fan is configured to supply air and hydrogen and to simultaneously draw, mix and inject the air and the hydrogen towards the catalytic section, the boiler plant comprising
 at least one heat exchanger arranged downstream of the catalytic burner through an outlet port and configured to exchange heat of reaction products with a consumer circuit;   an exhaust fumes discharge line connected at the outlet of the heat exchanger ;   at least one air inlet line connected to the at least one inlet port; and   a hydrogen inlet line connected to the at least one inlet.   
     
     
         16 . The boiler plant according to  claim 15 , further comprising a hydrogen inlet valve arranged at said hydrogen inlet line. 
     
     
         17 . The boiler plant according to  claim 15 , further comprising a supply air preheater disposed on the at least one air inlet line upstream of the at least one inlet port, wherein the supply air preheater exchanges heat with the exhaust fumes discharge line. 
     
     
         18 . The boiler plant according to  claim 17 , further comprising an extractor fan disposed downstream of said the supply air preheater to facilitate the evacuation of fumes to an outside environment through the exhaust fumes discharge line. 
     
     
         19 . The boiler plant according to  claim 17 , further comprising a recirculation recovery line for recirculation of a fraction of the combustion products and configured to connect the exhaust fumes discharge line upstream of the supply air preheater and connect the at least one air inlet line downstream of the supply air preheater.