Fuel Oil Burners

Overview

Engineering reference data for Fuel Oil Burners in combustion engineering.

Key Formulas

Heat Release

$Q = \dot{m} \cdot HV$

Fuel energy release rate.

Air-Fuel Ratio

$AF = \frac{m_{air}}{m_{fuel}}$

Mass of air per mass of fuel.

Excess Air

$EA = \frac{O_2}{21 - O_2} \times 100\%$

From flue gas oxygen measurement.

Variables

Symbol	Description	Unit
$Q$	Heat release rate	W
$\dot{m}$	Mass flow rate	kg/s
$HV$	Heating value	J/kg
$AF$	Air-fuel ratio	—

Burner Type Classification

Fuel oil burners can be categorized based on their operational mechanism and application scale:

Pot-type Burner Subtypes

Pot-type burners further classify based on air supply method:

Natural Draft Burners

• Rely on chimney draft for combustion air
• Gravity causes oil to flow to burner
• Simple, inexpensive design

Forced Draft Burners

• Use mechanical fan and/or chimney for air supply
• Better combustion control
• Higher efficiency than natural draft

Sleeve Burners

• Perforated sleeve design
• Limited to small applications
• Compact configuration

Rotary Burner Subtypes

Rotary burners operate with low-pressure gravity feed and centrifugal atomization:

Rotary Nozzle Burner

• Nozzle assembly rotates at high speed
• Oil supplied through central shaft
• Fine spray distribution

Rotary Cup Burner

• Cone-shaped cup rotates around central tube
• Fuel oil supplied to inner surface
• Centrifugal force creates fine spray

Configuration Types

• Vertical rotary burners
• Horizontal rotary burners
• Wall-flame rotary burners

References

• Original Source