Numerical simulation of a batch furnace for heating of ceramic bricks using flameless combustion burners

This study analyzes, through numerical simulations, the feasibility of replacing conventional swirl-type burners with self-regenerative flameless combustion burners for brick firing. The simulations were performed in steady state, varying the heat flux in the brick stack surface with values ranging from 5 to 15 kW/m 2 . It was found that it is possible to achieve the flameless combustion regime in this type of kiln, with more uniform temperatures in both the gases and the surface of the brick stack, which was demonstrated by a higher thermal uniformity coefficient for the gases and a lower standard deviation in the temperature of the brick stack surface. Additionally, since the flameless combustion burners are self-regenerative, a higher average temperature was achieved in the combustion chamber, which would allow for reducing the power of the burners, making the system thermally more efficient. It was also found that when using flameless combustion burners, there is an increase in CO emissions, with values ranging from 100 to 150 ppm. However, this increase would be offset by the improvement in efficiency and the quality of the produced bricks due to greater temperature uniformity.