United States Environmental Protection Agency Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory Research Triangle Park NC 27711 Research and Development EPA/600/S7-88/002 Apr. 1 988 v>EPA Project Summary Fundamental Combustion Research Applied to Pollution Formation—Volume III. Support Studies: Measurement Studies W. R. Seeker and M. P. Heap This is the third volume in a series documenting research activities con- ducted under the EPA's Fundamental Combustion Research (FCR) program, applied to pollution formation. The FCR program had three major objectives: • To generate an understanding of combustion behavior necessary to aid in developing control strategies to minimize NOX emissions from stationary sources. • To develop engineering models which would allow effective utiliza- tion of a large body of fundamental information in the development of new NOX control techniques. • To identify critical information necessary for low-NO* combustor development and to generate it in a time frame which was consistent with the needs of EPA's technology development programs. This Project Summary was devel- oped by EPA's Air and Energy Engi- neering Research Laboratory, Research Triangle Park, NC, to announce key findings of the research project that is fully documented in a separate report of the same title (see Project Report ordering information at back). Introduction This report documents findings from a limited number of studies to evaluate measurement techniques. FCR program efforts to evaluate and develop measure- ment techniques were conducted as part of a support function to the overall FCR program. An overview of the entire FCR program content and the objective of the program's various components are pre- sented in Volume I. Volume I also describes FCR program efforts to quantify the gas-phase chemistry controlling NOX formation and destruction during com- bustion. Volume II is a three-part report describing studies related to various aspects of the physics and chemistry of two-phase systems. Volume Ha ad- dresses flame combustion processes, Volume lib addresses devolatilization and volatile reactions, and Volume Me de- scribes studies of heterogeneous NO reduction processes. Volume IV docu- ments FCR program efforts to develop engineering analysis computer models. The prime contractor and EPA's project officer were responsible for program planning, management, and synthesis of the overall combined inhouse and sub- contract program. Approximately 70% of the program effort involved subcontracts to a variety of organizations throughout the world, ensuring that the FCR program had the benefit of the best scientific talent available. A substantial fraction of the experi- mental studies reported in Volumes I, II, and III were conducted through subcon- tracts or were joint efforts involving both EER and a subcontractor. Most of the modelling, however, was performed by EER directly. Volume III gives results from three individual research projects. The first study reported, performed directly by EER, evaluated potential errors involved in the chemiluminescent measurement ------- of NO in combustion products. The second study, performed through a subcontract to the University of Utah, included an assessment of the proce- dures required to measure nitrogenous intermediates involved in staged com- bustion. The final portion of Volume III documents results from a joint study conducted by EER and Spectron Devel- opment Laboratories to assess optical droplet sizing techniques which might be applied to studies of pollutant formation in liquid fuel spray flames. Each study is presented as a separate report with individual tables of contents, lists of figures, conclusions, and references. The remainder of this Project Summary pre- sents brief descriptions of the individual components comprising Volume III. Chemiluminescent Measurement of NO in Combustion Products The measurement of nitric oxide (NO) concentrations in combustion products by chemiluminescence has several advantages over alternative methods. As a result, the Chemiluminescent NO analyzer (CLA) has become a standard instrument for most laboratory and field emissions tests. CLAs were used by EER and all FCR program subcontractors for NOX measurements reported in this report series. During the FCR program, several papers appeared in the literature questioning the accuracy of CLAs when calibrated using NO in an N2 background for the span gas. (The primary concern was that background gas composition affected the NO concentration measure- ment.) Molecular nitrogen represents the dominant species in traditional combus- tion exhaust products, but there are also substantial concentrations of other species (e.g., water vapor and C02). One paper indicated that the common practice of neglecting background gas composi- tion variation could introduce errors as large as 28% in indicated NO concen- tration. This was an issue of considerable concern to the FCR program and to the EPA. Accordingly, a research project was initiated with three objectives: • Assess the accuracy of commercial CLAs measuring NO in combustion products following the calibration and operating procedures recommended by the instrument manufacturers. • Examine methods of correcting CLA- indicated NO concentrations for the effects of background gas composition variations. • Examine methods to improve calibra- tion procedures. Figure 1 is a simplified schematic of a CLA NO analyzer. A flow of ozone is mixed with the sample gas in the reaction chamber. The ozone and NO in the sam- ple gas (or span gas) rapidly react to form nitrogen dioxide in either an excited state (NO$) or a ground level state (NO2). The yield of NO$ is about 10% at ambient temperatures. The excited molecules can decay to ground state giving off light of' a characteristic frequency (chemilumi- nescence) or can collide with any third body (M) and decay to ground state without chemiluminescence (quench- ing). The relative importance of the Chemiluminescent and quenching reac- tions depends upon the temperature, and the amount and type of molecules available for quenching (i.e., the back- ground gas composition). The intensity of chemiluminescence, measured with a photomultiplier tube (PMT), is directly proportional to NO concentration. The relation between PMT output and NO concentration is determined by calibrat- ing the instrument using a known concentration of NO in a background gas to adjust the amplifier gain. A span gas which is NO free is used to adjust zero offset and to account for PMT dark cur- rent effects. The previously noted literature reports indicating substantial CLA NO measure- ment error were primarily concerned with the third body quenching efficiency of major combustion product gases (e.g., H20 and CO2) relative to that of IM2. These reports presented experimental evidence showing the strong impact of background gas composition on the quenching process. Background gas composition can also influence other important features of CLA operation. A potential influence of backgorund gas composition is its impact on sample gas flow rate to the reaction chamber. It is important to recognize that the output from the CLA's NO + M Sample Reaction Chamber Optical Filter Photomultiplier Tube Lighttight Housing Vent L Oi+Os Ozone Generator Power Supply. Amplifier, and Readout Figure 1. Chemiluminescent measurement of NO. 2 ------- PMT is actually proportional to the number of NO molecules entering the reaction chamber, not simply the NO concentration. For that reason, any process that impacts the flow rate of sample gas to the reaction chamber will also affect the NO concentration indi- cated by the CLA. Commercial CLAs typically control flow rates by passing the sample gas (and span gas) through a capillary and regulating the capillary pressure drop. Note, however, that for a constant pressure drop, the flowrate through a capillary is inversely propor- tional to the gas viscosity. Variations in sample gas composition which alter the average viscosity will result in variation in sample flowrate and the indicated NO concentration. This potential source of CLA measurement bias was not consid- ered in the above noted reports dealing with the quenching process. Fortunately, for the major non-N2 constituents of typical combustion products, biases due to quenching and viscosity effects are in opposite directions. To accomplish the program objectives, two commercially available CLAs were zeroed and spanned with N2 and NO in N2, respectively, and then used to measure known concentrations of NO in a variety of background gases. The gas mixtures were prepared by blending high purity gases and mixtures of NO in carrier gases in a precision flow metering system. The gas mixtures simulated combustion products from a wide range of fuel compositions and combustor operating conditions. The NO concentra- tions indicated by the CLAs were then compared with the actual NO concentra- tions to determine the effects of back- ground gas composition. Two commer- cial CLAs selected for evaluation: a Beckman Model 951 and a Thermal Electron Corporation (TECO) Model 10A. The major distinction between the instruments is that the Beckman is designed to operate with the reaction chamber at atmospehric pressure, while the TECO utilizes a subatmospheric pressure (nominally 9 torr1) reaction chamber. These pressure differences were expected to highlight the influence of the quenching process on NO mea- surement. The experimental program consisted of three series of tests. The Series 1 sample gas consisted of NO in a background of N2 and varying percentages of another gas. Figure 2 illustrates the response of both instruments to varying (but large) concentrations of O2, C02, CO, and CH4 in the background gas. In typical com- bustion system exhausts, the 02 concen- tration will be less, than 20% (assuming combustion in air), the CO and CH« concentrations should be in the ppm range, and the C02 concentration will be on the order of 10%. As shown, the impact of these sample gases on CLA operation is to decrease the indicated NO concentration. The atmospheric pressure reaction cell of the Beckman instrument showed a slightly stronger bias. Series 2 simulated background gases that would be produced in actual com- bustion systems(asopposedto the binary mixtures examined in Series 1). Back- ground gas mixtures were prepared simulating the products of complete combustion for a range of fuels at variable excess air levels. The fuels considered were methane and pure carbon, representing the extremes in fuel-carbon/hydrogen ratio. The fuel/air ratio simulated ranged from stoichiomet- ric all the way to an infinite excess air level. Figures 3A and 3B show the re- sponse of the TECO and Beckman instru- ments to sample gases containing 200 ppm NO. Figure 3C shows the response of both instruments to different NO levels as a function of theoretical air but holding the fuel type constant. These figures illustrate that the anticipated error from the TECO instrument will be less than 5% for all conditions analyzed. For the Beckman instrument, the influence of other background gases was found to be much stronger, with errors as large as 11% indicated in the 100% theoretical air range. The usual procedure in commercial CLA operation is to draw the sample gas through an ice bath (or through a dryer) to remove water from the sample and to reduce the sample dewpoint to below room temperature. As part of Series 2, experiments were conducted which varied the sample dewpoint in the range of 275-294 K. The impact of sample dewpoint on indicated NO level was found to be small for the TECO instru- ment (1-2%), but substantial for the Beckman instrument (up to 6%). Series 3 evaluated the impact of using CLAs spanned on NO in N2 to measure the NO concentration from combustion experiments using artificial oxidizers. As part of the FCR program and EPA's inhouse research program, experiments were conducted in which argon or an argon/CO2 mixture replaced molecular nitrogen in the combustion air. Such artificial oxidizer tests were used to evaluate the contribution of fuel bound nitrogen to exhaust NO. This particular combustion situation was expected to l.UO 1.02 | 0.95 0.94 0.90 s 0.56 2 0s 0.52 \ 0 75 X U.'O 1 r.os s 1 /.02 O 51 0.95 0.94 0.90 0.86 0.82 ma V 1 1 1 1 Oxygen - B a S o o- Q a • ••• • - I 1 1 I 1 1 1 I 1 1 Carbon Monoxide ~ O A _5L .A ^* • * • • - • Beckman O TECO m I 11 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Carbon Dioxide - D D 0 o D- 0 o 0 i i i i 9 Methane - »_- ., O. n D • • 9 • O 0 o o- • 1 1 1 1 i 10 20 30 40 SO 0 10 20 30 Concentration of Gas in Mixture (%), Balance Nz 40 50 'To convert to the metric system 1 torr = 133 Pa Figure 2. Binary background gases on impact of chemiluminescent NO measurement. 3 ------- o 6 1 /T3 7.07 0.99 ( 0.97 0.95 0.93 0.97 n CO , \ ,.,.., J TE CO - 200 ppm a : 1 I . «: . ° o ° . • « 0 C 0 C«4 K 100 300 500 700 Theoretical Air f%) | a o ^ I 1 o 7.03 ;.o; 0.99 0.97 0.95 i 0.93 0.97 /-| OQ U-oj ; , t JL-, ........ ,f— Beckman - 200 ppm . ' 0 o - •* ffl _ • o ° ° • o • ° o I o c a CHt • . k • 30 300 500 700 7000^ °° Theoretical Air (%) I 7.07 0.99 0.97, 0.95 0.93 0.9 1 1 C 0 J 00 ppm Beckmgn • 200 ppm O 100 ppm Tf-rn . 9 200 ppm '£CO •!"• R — . ' . :.-: * ° b Fuel=C 00 300 500 700 , •! 1 '^T . - 8 •: i 70001 °° Theoretical Air (%) Figure 3. Impact of fuel type and excess air level on NO measurement using chemilummescent analysis. result \n large instrument errors since the anticipated bias from argon quench- ing effects are in the same direction as the bias from variation in sample flow to the reaction cell. Results from Series 3 are shown in Figure 4 and clearly demonstrate the anticipated result. For the TECO instrument, the indicated concentration was low by 14-18%. For the Beckman instrument, the measure- ment error is a relatively strong function of excess air level, but errors as large as 20% are observed. Based on these examinations of CLA bias for argon- substituted combustion air, it is sug- gested that the CLA response be carefully calibrated and experimental results corrected for the instrument bias. Alter- nately, special calibration gases with argon/C02 mixtures as the background gas should be used. Measurement of Nitrogenous Intermediates in a Staged- Combustion System A small FCR program subcontract was issued to the University of Utah to assess various techniques being used to meas- ure nitrogenous intermediates from staged combustion processes. The pri- mary focus of the study was evaluation of specific ion electrodes for the meas- urement of hydrogen cyanide (HCN) and ammonia (NH3) concentrations gener- ated in staged combustion flames. Three important introductory notes are in order. First, HCN and NH3 are formed as intermediate species in the process of converting fuel bound nitrogen into either NO or N2. These intermediates are not expected as constituents in the exhaust gas of traditional or staged combustion processes. The second intro- ductory note is that this study was not intended as an exhaustive evaluation of nitrogenous intermediate measurement techniques. Within the FCR program and the combustion research community in general, specific ion electrodes are widely used to determine the concentra- tion of HCN and NHa. There was, how- ever, wide variation in the details of hovt samples were collected and the proce dures used for sample analysis. The study conducted at the University of UtaF was focused on evaluation of the various procedures being employed by other FCF research organizations. Finally, it shoulc be noted that emphasis is placed or extracting samples from within the flam< zone of a furnace fired with coal o residual fuel oil. This is an extreme!' hostile environment which impacts hov ------- o H Beckman21% Oz/21% CO2/Ar , a ir o 11 . 8 100 200 300 400 500 1000^ oo 100 200 300 400 500 Theoretical Air f%) _L,|V /oooM o Figure 4. Influence ofOz/Ar andOz/COz/Ar artificial oxidizers on measurement of NO from combustion tests using chemiluminescent analyzers. the sampling probes must be designed and operated if the probe is to survive mechanically. The study was performed through separate analysis of NH3 and HCN measurement procedures and included evaluation of sample collection, sample preparation, and sample analysis. Spe- cific ion electrode for NH3 measurement was evaluated first. The initial portion of the study centered on procedures for using the specific ion electrode itself. Effects of sample solution temperature, pH effects, and ionic strength effects on NH3 concentration measurement were all evaluated. In general, results from this evaluation confirmed the electrode manufacturer's operating instructions and suggestions. To collect a sample for analysis it is necessary to drive the NH3 in the sample gas into solution. Figure 5 illustrates the probe and sampling system found to be most appropriate for that purpose. The top portion of Figure 5 is a schematic of the spray probe which was used for furnace sampling at the University of Utah. The probe body is water-cooled and of stainless steel to withstand the high temperature environments from which sample gases must be extracted. A small tube is on the centerline of the probe. Small holes at the end of this tube admit a spray of water or other collecting solution into the sample gas flow. This spray serves to both cool the sample gas and drive the NH3 into solution. The combined sample gas and liquid from the spray are directed to a series of impingers at the probe outlet. Sampling system components downstream of the impin- gers measure the sample gas flow rate. Extensive evaluations were conducted to evaluate the influence of spray compo- sition, type of bubblers or impingers, type and quantity of contacting solution in the impingers, and effects of sample flow rate and NH3 concentration in the sample gas. These evaluations indicated that distilled deionized (DD) water for the spray collection efficiency of 97% was achieved (sampling 5 L/min of 550 ppm NH3, balance N2) with the spray probe itself. Adding fritted bubblers on the probe outlet increased the collection efficiency to 98%. Changing the spray and bubbler solution from DD water to 0.1 N H2SO4 increased the collection efficiency to 99%. The final portion of the ammonia probe study included assessment of potential interference effects from other species in the sample gas. Strong interferences were found for two gases: when the sample gas contained dimethylamine, a strong positive interference was ob- served, indicating that the electrode is not totally specific to NH3 but also senses NH species; and a strong negative interference was found for SOa. Further investigation indicated that a substantial ------- 2.54 cm OD Tube 1.91 cm OD Tube 1.27cm OD Tube Gas Sample In 0.318 OD Tube 157.7 cm a .. ^m^^^ ^ TA C_T Spray Jets Cooling Water Out Cooling Water In Spray u Gas and Solution Out Solution In Waterspray Probe Spray Pump Cooling Coils Knockout IT Drum Glass-Wool Filters Dessicant Dryer Impingers Figure 5. Waterspray probe and samplimg system. Temperature Gauge Dry Gas Meter Pressure Gauge Sample Pump To System Exhaust fraction (not quantified) of the SOs interference was the result of gas-phase reactions between NH3 and S02 prior to the sample gas reaching the sampling probe. The need for further evaluation of this interference is indicated. Evaluation of the HCN measurement system proceeded similarly to the eval- uation of the NH3 probe. The specific ion electrode evaluation included assess- ments of the impacts of solution temper- ature, pH effects, and ionic strength impacts on the electrode response. As with the NH3 electrode, the cyanide electrode performs in much the fashion indicated by the instrument manufac- turer. However, an observed hysteresi: effect suggested that the cyanide elec trode be conditioned with a solution o low cyanide concentration in comparisoi with the solution on which measure ments are to be made. The optimal sample collection systen for HCN was found to be the same a ------- that for the NH3 system shown in Figure 5. A variety of spray solutions and contacting solutions in the impingers were investigated. Using DD water, 0.1 N H2SO4, and 1.0 M NaOH, all resulted in HCN collection efficiencies of only about 85%. Evaluations of interfering gas species in the sample flow found that the only major interference came from S=. Addition of Bi+3 to the impingers was found effective for removal of both the S= ion and its interfering effect. A final portion of the University of Utah study reports on experiments to measure nitrogenous intermediates in a staged combustion system. Experiments were conducted in a refractory tunnel furnace and burned natural gas doped with surrogate fuel nitrogen compounds in a staged combustion configuration. Spray Characterization An FCR experimental research project was jointly conducted by EER and Spec- Iron Development Laboratories (SDL) to evaluate three laser-based techniques for measuring characteristics of sprays. A number of optical techniques have been developed or proposed which promise information on spray parame- ters such as the spatial distribution of drop size distribution and the velocity of Transmitting Optics various drop size classes. The three techniques evaluated in this FCR project included processes based on interfer- ometry, holography, and laser diffraction. Interferometry, a point measurement technique, can simultaneously deter- mine the diameter and velocity of a droplet passing through the point sam- pling volume. Droplet diameter and velocity distribution information can be obtained at a given probing location, while spatial distribution of size distri- bution and velocity is obtained by sequentially examining multiple loca- tions in the spray. Holography provides an instantaneous, three-dimensional picture of the droplet field and was included in the evaluation as a cross- check for the interferometry and diffrac- tion techniques. The diffraction tech- nique examined provided a line-of-sight measurement of drop size distribution and did not provide information on droplet velocity. It was included in the evaluation because the technique rapidly provides processed data and because it had been used for spray nozzle charac- terization in a previous EPA study conducted at the International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) in IJmuiden, Holland. To evaluate the measurement tech- niques, a special spray chamber was constructed from a 0.61 m diameter Plexiglas tube to simulate the geometry of EPA's firetube package boiler simu- lator. Commercial spray nozzles could be located on the chamber centerline, while an adjustable quantity of air was provided co-axial to the nozzle. Initial testing was restricted to a small twin-fluid atomizer (Sonicore model 052 H) which had been used in several combustion evaluation studies. This Sonicore nozzle had also been evaluated as part of the previously noted IFRF spray characterization study. The laser interferometry study utilized optical hardware and signal processing equipment provided by SDL (see Figure 6). Light from a helium-neon (HeNe) laser was split into two beams by a diffraction grating and then crossed within the spray chamber. At the beam intersection, an interference fringe pattern is estab- lished. When a droplet passes through this probe volume, light is scattered and collected on a photomultiplier tube. Analysis of the resultant electrical signal provides information on the droplet diameter and velocity. Data from multiple droplets passing through the probe volume are stored on a computer disk and analyzed to define histograms of droplet size and velocity. The laser holography system, also provided by SDL, consisted of an HeNe L-\, DC: Diffraction Grating LZ, /.»' Transmitting Lenses Lt. LS: Collecting Lenses M: Mirror PMT: Photomultiplier Tube PV. Probe Volume 0: Collection Angle Collecting Optics Figure 6. Laser interferometry system. ------- laser for alignment and a ruby laser to take the hologram. The ruby laser beam was split into information and reference beams. Both beams were expanded, spatially filtered, and collimated. The information beam went through the fuel spray, while the reference beam bypassed the test section. The two beams were then mixed on a holoplate. The optical configuration employed produced a probe volume on the order of 10 cm3. A shutter in front of the holoplate holder allowed light to enter only during record- ing and minimized the influence of extraneous light sources. The laser diffraction system employed was the Malvern Model 1800 purchased by EPA for the previously mentioned IFRF study. The basic measurement system consists of an HeNe laser whose beam is expanded to 6.0 mm diameter and passed through the spray flow field. Light from the beam is diffracted by droplets in the spray. The angle of diffraction depends on the droplet diameter, increasing with decreasing droplet size. As illustrated in Figure 7, the diffracted light is collected by a Fourier transform lens and focused on a 30-ring detector. The distribution of light energy across the 30 rings is read by a minicomputer and fit to a Roslin-Rammler distribution. The sweep time of the detector is approxi- mately 13 msec. A representative droplet size distribution is obtained by averaging the results from about 100 to 200 sweeps. Figure 8 illustrates typical results from the evaluation in a plot of spray weight density distribution versus droplet diameter for the three measurement techniques. These data were all collected at the same axial location in the spray with the same nozzle operating condi- tions. The diffraction and holography techniques are in reasonable agreement: the major source of deviation is attributed to failure of the holography system to detect droplets smaller than about 15- 20 Aim in diameter. Both the diffraction and holography techniques give results in marked contrast to the interferometric technique. This discrepancy is attributed to the limited dynamic range of the interferometric technique. The technique is capable of measuring droplets within only a 1 decade variation range in diameter. As noted in the figure, the diffraction technique detected droplets ranging from <10 to >200//m diameter. The interferometer tests were conducted to measure droplets in the range of approximately 10-100 /urn. Centering of the dynamic range is adjustable, but 8 Fourier Transform Lens Detector Beam Expander Minicomputer Teletype Figure 7. Laser diffraction diagnostic technique. 0.5 I I I I I 0.2 0.1 Figure 8. 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 Diameter, ^m Interferometric, diffraction, and holography data—weight density distribution for Sonicore spray nozzle. biasing resulting from the limited dynamic range appears to be a major drawbacktothetechnique.lt is important to note that SDL felt that many of the apparent shortcomings of the interfer- ometer technique were a matter of data interpretation. An appendix in the report documents the evaluation position taken by SDL. ------- W. Seeker and M. Heap are with Energy and Environmental Research Corp.. Irvine, CA 92718. W. Steven Lanier is the EPA Project Officer (see below). The complete report, entitled "Fundamental Combustion Research Applied to Pollution Formation: Volume III. Support Studies: Measurement Studies," (Order No. PB 88-168 968/AS; Cost: $38.95. subject to change) will be available only from: National Technical Information Service 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, VA 22161 Telephone: 703-487-4650 The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at: Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 *U.S.Government Printing Office: 1988 — 548-158/67096 ------- m ~p O -n * :£ > 3z? a ^- § o? I) O oo 03 O o =• to Is c en at u OIV30C O xw*m O MOOtO O O M O O 5 o 5' 3 Q) 01 NJ O> 00 oo < •« rnuiM » 30 »!"• -fl OOBJO 3Q90O 30 rn o tn z o Ch o m a, r O rn : m ? n z. ( CD CD tn § (• S ------- |