Blending syngas with ammonia (NH3) effectively
overcomes
the high minimum ignition energy and low laminar burning velocity
(S
L) of NH3, facilitating the
realistic application of NH3 as a fuel for gas turbines.
Thus, the present study combines experiments and numerical simulations
to investigate the impacts of diluent N2 (0–60%)
and NH3 (25–50%) on NH3/syngas/air flames.
The analysis suggests that increasing N2 and NH3 content, respectively, results in a decrease in the S
L of the mixture. At Φ = 1.0, as the N2 content increases from 0 to 60%, the S
L of the mixture decreases from 80.1 to 28.3 cm/s. The S
L decreases from 80.1 to 36.4 cm/s as the NH3 content increases from 25 to 50%. The increase in N2 content
decreases the maximum mole fractions of H, OH, and O radicals, and
the net reaction rates of chain reactions also decrease. The net reaction
rate of H + O2 = O + OH at Z
N2 = 60% decreases by 85.8% compared to 0.018 (mol/cm3 s)
at Z
N2 = 0% at Φ = 1.0. As NH3 content increases, the impact of chain reactions associated
with the NH3 reaction mechanism on the combustion process
becomes more pronounced. With the increase in NH3 content,
the ratio of chemical effect to physical effect initially increases
and then decreases, reaching a maximum value of 25.4% around Z
NH3 = 30%. This value is much less than 1, indicating
an overall inhibitory effect. The analysis of reaction pathways and
NO emissions suggests that the presence of N2 reduces NH3 consumption, which in turn reduces NO generation. The increase
in NH3 content promotes the conversion of N2O to N2, simultaneously reducing NO emissions.