Demonstration of Advanced Oxygen Combustion for Metals Industries

Industrial and Agricultural Innovation

Institute of Gas Technology dba GTI Energy

Recipient

Davis, CA

Recipient Location

37th

Senate District

68th

Assembly District

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$1,638,874

Amount Spent

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Active

Project Status

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Project Update

The demonstration system has been designed, fabricated, and installed. Baseline testing is complete, and demonstration testing is underway. The project is progressing according to schedule.

The Issue

Nitrogen constitutes almost 80 percent of air used for combustion. It is inert and does not participate in combustion but is heated and rejected to the atmosphere with the flue gases adding to energy losses. Increasing the oxygen content of the air used for combustion improves the efficiency of the heating process.

Project Innovation

Gas Technology Institute (GTI) will demonstrate efficiency improvement on an aluminum melting furnace using the advanced Messer oxygen - gas burner. GTI will partner with Messer North America, Inc. and Custom Alloy Light Metals in City of Industry, CA, as the host site. The team will install the Messer burner to improve heat distribution and lower gas demand by improving efficiency. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions will also be reduced. Custom Alloy recognizes the growing need to lower gas consumption and carbon emissions and with the proposed technology expects to meet these goals with an expected payback of less than 2 years.

Project Benefits

Fuel savings are expected to be significant across California in the metals, cement, minerals, and petrochemical industries. Custom Alloy alone operates multiple furnaces in its City of Industry plant, and it has a second plant in Oakland, CA. Estimates are that several dozen furnaces of similar size will benefit from adopting the OXYPYR-LEAF technology, leading to annual savings of well over 800,000 therms per year of gas in California.

Affordability

Gas savings and carbon dioxide reductions of 20% are estimated at oxygen content of 60% and 32% at oxygen content of 100% (pure oxygen). At any oxygen level of 40% or higher, the OXYPYR-LEAF burner system is expected to have a payback time of less than two years.