xvEPA
Unhed States
Environmental Protection
Agency
EPA/540/M R-95/502
March 1995
SUPERFUND INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY EVALUATION
Demonstration Bulletin
Cello® Pulse Combustion Burner System
Sonotech, Inc.
Technology Description: Sonotech, Inc. (Sonotech), of At-
lanta, GA, the developer of the Cello® pulse combustion burner,
claims that its burner system can be beneficial to a variety of
combustion processes. The system incorporates a combustor
that can be tuned to induce large amplitude sonic pulsations
inside combustion process units such as boilers or incinerators.
According to Sonotech, these pulsations increase heat release,
mixing, and mass transfer rates in the combustion process,
resulting in faster and more complete combustion. Sonotech has
targeted waste incineration as a potential application for the
system. To test its potential applicability and effectiveness, the
Sonotech system was demonstrated on the pilot-scale rotary kiln
incineration system (RKS) at the EPA Incineration Research
Facility (IRF) in Jefferson, AR. In the demonstration, a Sonotech
Cello® system was retrofit to the primary combustion chamber of
the RKS.
A pulse combustor typically consists of an air inlet, a combustor
section, and a tailpipe (see Figure 1). In the Cello® pulse com-
bustor, fuel oxidation and heat release rates vary periodically with
time, producing periodic variations or pulsations in pressure,
temperatu'e, and gas velocity. Sonotech claims that large ampli-
tude resonant pulsations excited by its frequency-tunable pulse
combustor can significantly improve an incinerator's performance,
thereby reducing capital investment and operating costs for a
wide variety of incineration systems.
Waste Applicability: The Sonotech Cello® combustor can be
incorporated into the construction of most new combustion de-
vices or can be retrofit to many existing systems. The Cello®
bu -ner system can be used to treat any material typically treated
in a conventional incinerator, and Sonotech believes the technol-
ogy is ready to be used for the full-scale incineration of contami-
naied solids, liquids, sludges, and medical wastes. Contaminated
soil, sludge, and tar samples collected from two manufactured
gas plant Superfund sites were blended for use in this SITE
demonstration.
Demonstration Results: The primary objective of the demon-
stration was to develop test data to evaluate the treatment effi-
ciency of the Sonotech Cello® combustor system compared to
conventional combustion. Test data were evaluated to determine
if the Sonotech system (1) increased incinerator capacity, (2)
inceased destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of principal
organic hazardous constituents (POHC), (3) decreased flue gas
carbon monoxide emissions, (4) decreased flue gas nitrogen
oxides emissions, (5) decreased flue gas soot emissions, (6)
decreased combustion air requirements, and (7) decreased auxil-
SECONDA3Y
BURNER
AIR
NATURAL OAS
SONOTECH
TUNABLE-PULSE BURNER
AIR I
NATURAL OAS
TO AIR POLLUTION
CONTROL SYSTEMS
AFTERBURNER
ROTARY
KILN
3E
SOLIDS FEEDER
IAIN BURNER
p
I AIR
NATURAL OAS
Figure 1. The Sonotech Frequency-Tunable Pulse Combustion Burner System fitted to the IRF RKS.
Printed on Recycled Paper

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iary fuel requirements. The demonstration's secondary objective
was to develop additional data to evaluate whether the Sonotech
system, compared to conventional combustion, (1) reduced the
magnitude of transient puffs of carbon monoxide and total un-
burned hydrocarbons (TUHC) (2) significantly changed the distri-
bution of hazardous constituent trace metals among the incineration
system discharge streams (including kiln bottom ash, scrubber
liquor, and baghouse exit flue gas); and (3) increased the leach-
ability of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)
trace metals from kiln ash.
To achieve the demonstration objectives, tests were performed in
triplicate at four different incineration system operating conditions,
for a total of 12 individual tests. The four test conditions included
(1) conventional combustion at typical operating conditions (2)
conventional combustion at its maximum feedrate; (3) Sonotech
pulse combustion at the conventional combustion maximum
feedrate (the same nominal feedrate as condition 2) and (4)
Sonotech pulse combustion at its maximum feedrate. A summary
of preliminary demonstration results is presented below.
•	The Sonotech system increased the incinerator waste feedrate
capacity by 13%to 20% compared to conventional combustion.
The capacity increase was equivalent to reducing the auxiliaty
fuel needed to treat a unit mass of waste from 27.4 thousand
British thermal units per pound of waste (kBtu/lb) for conven-
tional combustion to 21.5 kBtu/lb for the Sonotech system,
however; the demonstration waste had significant heat content.
Visual observations indicated improved mixing in the incinerator
cavity with the Sonotech system operating.
Other demonstration results, for test conditions at the same nomi-
nal feedrate, are summarized as follows:
•	Benzene DREs for all 12 test runs were greater than 99.994%,
with a slight improvement in the third decimal place for the
Sonotech combustor results. With the Sonotech system operat-
ing, the average benzene emission rate was reduced from 7.7
to 5.7 milligrams per hour (mg/hr) at the afterburner exit. This
represents a 25% reduction, although changes of this magni-
tude are within the precision of this type of measurement.
•	Naphthalene DREs were greater than or equal to 99.998% for
all test runs. With the Sonotech system operating, the average
naphthalene emission rate was reduced from 1.2 to 1.1 mg/hr
at the afterburner exit. This represents an 8% reduction,
although again, this magnitude of change is also within the
precision of this type of measurement.
•	The average afterburner carbon monoxide emissions, cor-
rected to 7%oxygen, decreased from 20 parts per million (ppm)
with conventional combustion to 14 ppm with the Sonotech
system. This represents a 29% reduction.
•	The average afterburner nitrogen oxides emissions, corrected
to 7% oxygen, decreased from 82 ppm with conventional
combustion to 77 ppm with the Sonotech system. This repre-
sents a 6% reduction.
•	Average afterburner soot emissions, corrected to 7% oxygen,
were reduced from 1.9 milligrams per dry standard cubic meter
(mg/dscm) for conventional combustion to less than 1.0 mg/
dscm with the Sonotech system. This represents a 53% or
greater decrease in soot. However, all soot measurements
were within a factor of 3 of the method detection limit, so the
significance of this reduction is uncertain.
•	Total system combustion air requirements, determined from
stoichiometric calculations, were 5% lower with the Sonotech
system in operation.
Demonstration findings addressing the frequency of transient
carbon monoxide and TUHC puffs, trace metals distribution, and
the results of TCLP testing are under evaluation.
A Technology Capsule and an Innovative Technology Evaluation
Report will be available in mid-1995.
For Further Information:
Marta K. Richards
EPA SITE Project Manager
U.S. EPA
26 West Martin Luther King Drive
Cincinnati, OH 45268
(513) 569-7692
(513) 569-7549 (fax)
BULK RATE
POSTAGE & FEES PAID
EPA
PERMIT No. G-35
United States
Environmental Protection Agency
Center for Environmental Research Information
Cincinnati, OH 45268
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
EPA/540/M R-95/502

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