BURNER TECHNOLOGY AT EBNER

What role does EBNER play in the development of innovative burner solutions for industrial furnaces?

Seemann: EBNER develops its own burner solutions for the majority of its facilities. In-house development allows us to optimally respond when integrating burners into different types of furnaces. The EBNER product range offers a wide variety of burner technologies – from classic gas burners to flameless burners and hydrogen-powered solutions.

Given that variety, what has been your core approach to development?

Koller: Our feeling of responsibility towards the environment and future generations inspired us early on to begin development of low-emission, sustainable combustion technologies. This produced various innovations, including our own flameless burners, which not only meet increasingly strict NOx emission regulations, but also follow our vision of “Driving Green Technologies”. At the same time, there was a need to address future market requirements for carbon-neutral heat treatment solutions. This led to the development of our hydrogen burners. As long as “green” hydrogen is available in sufficient quantities, these burners allow a heating system to be fully carbon-neutral – an important step towards a climate-friendly industry.

How do the various EBNER burners differ in terms of technology, efficiency, emissions and area of application?

Koller: EBNER employs heating systems that heat both indirectly (using radiant tubes) and directly. The efficiency of these systems, as well as their emissions, depend on a number of factors. These include the processing temperature, burner output and the temperature to which the combustion air is preheated. The main factors determining their areas of application are first, direct versus indirect heating and second, the type of heat treatment facility – that is, whether it is for steel or aluminum.

Over the last few years, which technological trends have influenced development? Is there a general direction in which all burner designs are headed?

Seeman: A constant effort is being made to increase combustion efficiency, while reducing pollutant emissions at the same time. In addition to that, over the last few years there has been intensive research into the combustion of fuel gases with widely different compositions – mixtures of hydrogen and natural gas, synthetic gases or ammonia. The goal of development is to allow zero carbon or low carbon combustion.

What makes EBNER burners stand out?

Koller: EBNER only develops all-metal burners, which are designed to operate in furnace temperatures up to 1250 °C. In-house design and manufacturing contribute significantly to the exceptionally long service life of our burners.

Are EBNER burners only used for heat treatment, or are they also used in other applications?

Koller: At this time, our burners are only used in facilities we manufacture. Their future use in non-EBNER facilities, as well as in other industries (for example, in equipment used to manufacture cement, bricks, elastomers, glass or carbon) is a major focus of our ongoing research and development work.

CHANCES AND CHALLENGES

Which challenges currently shape the development of burner technologies?

Seemann: One of the greatest challenges is the conflict between the goals of increasing efficiency and reducing NOx emissions. A solution may be found in intelligent control technology, which allows burners to be controlled very precisely. Additional challenges are posed by the growth of hydrogen as a fuel gas, which remains uncertain.