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Energy saving analysis and thermal performance evaluation of a hydrogen-

enriched natural gas-fired condensing boiler

Article in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy · February 2023

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.02.027

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Available online at www.sciencedirect.com

ScienceDirect

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he

Energy saving analysis and thermal performance

evaluation of a hydrogen-enriched natural
gas-fired condensing boiler

Huan Yang a, Xiaolong Lin a, Hejitian Pan a, Sajie Geng a, Zhengyu Chen b,
Yinhe Liu a,*
a
State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an
Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049, China
b
Zhejiang Academy of Special Equipment Science

highlights graphical abstract

Heat transfer performance of a

condensing boiler with HENG was
evaluated.

H2 enrichment enhances the radi-
ation intensity of the flame in the
furnace.

Condensing boiler efficiency in-
creases by 8.8% points for H2 frac-
tion of 100%.

Original condenser can meet the
heat transfer demand if HENG re-
places NG.

CO2 emission intensity decreases
by 55.4% for H2 fraction of 80%.

article info abstract

Article history: Hydrogen-enriched natural gas (HENG) has attracted widespread attention due to its lower
Received 23 September 2022 pollutant emissions and industrial decarbonization in the past decades. HENG combustion
Received in revised form boosts the water content in the flue gas, which is highly favorable for condensing boilers to
25 January 2023 recover additional latent heat. The energy saving and thermal performance of a
Accepted 6 February 2023 condensing boiler burning HENG were evaluated at a constant heat load of 2.8 MW in this
Available online xxx study. The variations in combustion products and boiler efficiency were investigated based
on the material balance and energy conservation. The heat transfer calculations were
Keywords: employed to evaluate the thermal performance of boiler heating surfaces. The energy re-
Hydrogen-enriched natural gas covery performance of the condenser was assessed via a thermal design method. Results
Energy saving show that H2 enrichment enhances the radiation intensity of the flame due to the incre-
Heat transfer mental triatomic gases with higher emissivity in the furnace. The heat absorption ratio
Condensing boiler increases with H2 enrichment in the radiative heating surface, while it shows a reverse

* Corresponding author. No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi'an 710049, Shaanxi Province, People's Republic of China.
E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Liu).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.02.027
0360-3199/© 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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2 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Condenser tendency in the convective heating surface. The condensing boiler efficiency based on
Carbon dioxide lower heating value increases from 101.83% to 110.60%, the total heat transfer rate of the
condenser increases from 2.77  105 W to 4.61  105 W, and the total area required de-
creases from 46.45 m2 to 42.16 m2, as the H2 enriches from 0 to 100% under the exhaust flue
gas temperature of 318 K. Although the amount of recoverable heat in the exhaust flue gas
increases considerably after H2 blending, the original condenser with natural gas as the
designed fuel could meet the requirements of the heat recovery for HENG without
increasing the extra heating surface. When the H2 fraction is enriched from 0 to 100%, CO2
emission intensity drops from 6.05  108 kg J1 to 0. This work may offer some theoretical
references for the application and generalization of HENG condensing boilers.
© 2023 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Nomenclature MCO2 Molar mass of carbon dioxide, g$mol1

Nt Total tube number
Abbreviations Pr Rated pressure, Pa
EFGT Exhaust flue gas temperature PH2 O The partial pressure of vapor, Pa
HENG Hydrogen-enriched natural gas Pr Prandtl number
HTC Heat transfer coefficient p Furnace Pressure, Pa
LHHTD Logarithmic heat transfer temperature difference pq Overall partial pressure of triatomic gases, Pa
LHV Lower heating value Q Rated heat output, W
LMTD Logarithmic mean temperature difference q, qg Total heat flux and sensible heat flux from non-
NG Natural gas condensable flue gas, W
WVDP Water vapor dew point qc Convective heat transfer capacity, W$m2
qch Incomplete combustion loss, %
Symbols
qfg Heat loss of exhaust gas, %
A Surface area, m2
qr Radiation heat transfer capacity, W$m2
Af Furnace area, m2
qrc Heat loss of radiation and convection, %
Arc Return combustion chamber shell area, m2
qv Volumetric heat capacity, W$m3
Art Second process area (internally ribbed tube
R Thermal resistance, m2$K$W1
banks), m2
Re Reynolds number
Ast Third process area (smooth tube banks), m2
rH2 O Volume content of water vapor, %
ase System emissivity
rq Volume content of triatomic gases, %
af Flame emissivity
s Effective thickness of radiant layer, m
alu, anlu Emissivity of luminous flame and non-luminous
T Temperature, K
flame
Tad Adiabatic flame temperature, K
aw Emissivity of wall
Tav Average flame temperature, K
CCO2 , CH2 O , CN2 Constant pressure specific heats of CO2,
Tfg,f Furnace exit gas temperature, K
H2O, and N2, J$m3$K1
Tfw Furnace wall temperature, K
d i, d o Tube inside and outside diameter, m
Tw Saturation temperature of water at working
ECO2 CO2 emission intensity, kg$J1
pressure, K
Fl Furnace enclosure area, m2
t Temperature, K
fCm Hn , fCO , fH2 , fO2 Hydrocarbon, Carbon monoxide, 0
Vaird;th , Vair;th , Vair;a Theoretical volume of dry air, moist
hydrogen, and oxygen volumetric
air, and total air for the combustion of
fraction in fuel, %
1 m3 of fuel, respectively, m3$m3
Hair Cold air enthalpy, J$m3
VCO2 , VN2 Total volume of CO2 and N2, m3$m3
Hefg Exhaust flue gas enthalpy, J$m3
Vfg Total flue gas volume, m3$m3
Hfg Flue gas enthalpy, J$m3
Vfg,u Flue gas volume burned per unit fuel burned,
Hlat Latent heat of water vapor, J$m3
m3$m3
Hsen Sensible heat of condensate, J$m3 0
VH , VH2 O Theoretical water vapor volume and the total
hfg,e Effective heat transfer coefficient, W$m2$K1 2O

water vapor volume, m3$m3

hm Condensing heat transfer coefficient, W$m2$K1
VHENG , VH2 , VNG Consumption of hydrogen-enriched
hfg, hw Heat transfer coefficient in flue gas or water sides
natural gas, hydrogen, and natural gas,
of condenser, W$m2$K1
m3$s1
kq, kth Radiant absorption factor of triatomic gases and
Vl Furnace volume, m3
soot, m1$Pa1
x Water vapor entrained with air, kg$kg1
l Thread pitch, m

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 3

Greek symbols ll, rl, ml Thermal conductivity, density, and viscosity of

a1 , a2 Heat transfer coefficient of flue gas or water sides, the condensate, W$m1$K1, kg$m3, Pa$s
W$m2$K1 nH2 O Specific volume of water, m3$kg1
aH2 Hydrogen fraction, % vol./vol rair Dry air density, kg$m3
ε Thread depth, m j Thermal effectiveness factor
h Boiler efficiency, % Dt Temperature difference, K
l Excess air ratio
lh Thermal conductivity, W$m1$K1

Introduction boilers have higher thermal efficiency [22] and lower pollutant
emissions [23]. While the HENG is fueled in boilers, the volume
Natural gas (NG) is a type of fossil fuel with convenience and proportion of water vapor is improved, and then the water
high flexibility in the global energy supply system [1]. In 2021, vapor dew point (WVDP) is enhanced accordingly [24,25],
the global consumption of NG is 145.34 EJ, accounting for which is an efficient approach to boost condensing boiler ef-
24.42% of primary energy consumption [2]. However, with the ficiency [26] because of recovering additional latent heat from
continuous growth of global energy demand, environmental flue gas. This proves that the application of HENG in
degradation and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have become condensing boilers will not only benefit the reduction of car-
serious challenges for the development of the international bon emissions in heating and industrial production but also
community [3]. Hydrogen (H2) gets the upper hand in indus- save fossil fuel consumption.
trial decarbonization [4] and high combustion efficiency [5e7], Existing studies have done some work to assess the ther-
which contributes to solving the energy crisis and environ- mal efficiency and decarbonization of HENG condensing
mental pollution [8]. More and more researchers are aiming to boilers. Ba
la

nescu et al. [27,28] found that the condensing
explore new energy supplies that combine H2 with NG for boiler efficiency is improved by 1.3% and CO2 emission is
pollution reduction [9]. reduced by 56.15% based on a high calorific value with an 80%
The production cost of hydrogen energy is a crucial factor H2 fraction. Basso et al. [24] investigated the influence of
limiting its application. Recently, H2 energy production tech- hydrogen blending on boiler burning efficiency. It was
nology has developed rapidly [10], among those the cost of demonstrated that H2 enrichment boosts boiler efficiency, and
hydrogen production by electrified methane reforming tech- that variation in relative humidity has a crucial effect on
nology can be as low as 2.47 $/kg H2 [11]. This provides a po- condensing boiler efficiency. Schiro et al. [29,30] modeled and
tential platform for the universal application of hydrogen analyzed the influence of HENG on the CO2 emission of do-
energy in industrial equipment. However, effective hydrogen mestic hot water boilers. The results reveal that HENG deeply
storage may be the biggest obstacle to the widespread use of reduces carbon emissions.
hydrogen energy due to its light weight and gaseous nature However, the aforementioned studies all adopt the heat
[12]. The two relatively mature commercial hydrogen storage loss method to evaluate the boiler efficiency, ignoring the ef-
methods (high pressure compressed hydrogen and liquefied fect of hydrogen blending on the heating surfaces of the boiler.
hydrogen) face the dilemma of low gravimetric H2 density and This is the key to understanding how HENG affects the oper-
high energy consumption at present [13]. The hydrogen stor- ating performance of condensing boilers, which is of great
age density of the two methods mentioned above is only practical significance to guide and facilitate the application of
around 4.4 wt%~7.5 wt% [14], but the energy consumption is as hydrogen-enriched natural gas in the industrial sector. In
high as 13%e40% of the lower heating value of H2 [15]. addition, H2 enrichment improves the H2O proportion in the
Nowadays, hydrogen blending in natural gas pipeline trans- flue gas, which is beneficial for recovering more latent heat.
mission has drawn extensive focus because of its character- Whether the original condenser of the boiler will be able to
istics such as large-scale, long-distance, and continuous meet the demand for heat exchange requires further exami-
transportation [16]. Moreover, hydrogen-enriched natural gas nation. Few studies have focused on these topics. Thus, the
(HENG) can save the cost of gas pipeline construction and purpose of this work is to answer the following two problems.
conduce to quickly realizing the goal of integrating the whole
industrial chain of hydrogen energy production, trans- 1. Enrichment of H2 alters the balance of heat and material in
portation, and utilization [17]. the boiler. How does HENG affect the thermal performance
At present, more and more interest is focusing on the of the condensing boiler?
application of hydrogen-enriched natural gas in condensing 2. Enrichment of H2 improves the recoverable heat in the
boilers on account of the great potential of industrial decar- exhaust flue gas. But if HENG replaces NG, can the original
bonization [18,19]. Natural gas condensing boiler with a heat condenser meet the heat transfer demand?
duty of 2.8 MW is an essential type of special equipment
widely used in industrial production and heating field [20,21]. In this study, the effect of H2 enrichment on the thermal
Compared with conventional gas-fired boilers, condensing performance of the boiler's heating surfaces and the heat

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4 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1 e Schematic of condensing boiler.

pass hot water boiler was chosen as the object of this study.
Table 1 e Parameters of WNS2.8-1.0/95/70-Q hot water Fig. 1 depicts the condensing boiler, consisting of a regular
boiler.
boiler and a condenser. The radiant heating surface of the
Parameters Symbol Value Unit boiler is of a corrugated furnace type. The boiler's convective
Rated heat output Q 2.8  106 W heating surface is made up of the second process (internally
Rated pressure Pr 1.0  106 Pa ribbed smoke tube banks) and the third process (smooth
Supply water temperature t" 368.15 K smoke tube banks) successively. The parameters of the gas-
Return water temperature t' 343.15 K fired hot water boiler are described in Table 1.
Air temperature Tair 293.15 K
In this paper, the required area of the heat exchanger is
Excess air ratio l 1.05 e
Exhaust gas temperature qfg 391.35 K
used to assess how HENG affects the condenser's ability to
Water vapor dew point Tdt 332.70 K recover waste heat. An E type of single flue gas and water pass
Incomplete combustion loss qch 0.5 % exchanger is chosen for the waste heat recovery condenser
Heat loss of radiation and convection qrc 2 % due to its straightforward structure and wide application, as
Boiler efficiency h 92.61 % shown in Fig. 1. For condensing boilers, the most cost-
Furnace area Af 21.21 m2
effective exhaust flue gas temperature (EFGT) lies between
Return combustion chamber shell area Arc 7.04 m2
313 K and 328 K [21]. Therefore, the EFGT of the condenser is
Second process area (internally ribbed Art 64.89 m2
tube banks) assumed to be 318 K. The condenser inlet temperature of flue
Third process area (smooth tube banks) Ast 64.04 m2 gas is determined by the EFGT from the conventional gas-fired
Furnace enclosure area Fl 28.25 m2 boiler. The return and supply water temperatures of the
Furnace volume Vl 5.65 m3 condenser are assumed to be 288 K and 323 K [21], respec-
tively. The outer and inner diameters of the plain tube are
14 mm and 10 mm in the condenser, respectively.
exchange condenser is investigated. The feasibility of H2 The Shanbei natural gas (Shaanxi Province, China) is cho-
blending in condensing boilers and the carbon reduction po- sen as the reference fuel gas. The calorific value of Shanbei
tential of HENG are evaluated as well. This study may provide natural gas is 3.51  107 J$m3. The composition of the Shanbei
a theoretical reference for the application and generalization natural gas is shown in Table 2.
of HENG condensing boilers. The operating excess air ratio of a boiler is typically in the
range of 1.0e1.1. Therefore, l ¼ 1.0/1.05/1.1 were chosen as the
three conditions. The thermal calculation of condensing boiler
Condensing boiler and fuel gas was performed in H2 fraction ranges of 0% vol. ~100% vol., by
means of a 5% vol. step. The iterative solution was imple-
The 2.8 MW gas-fired boiler is very typical and widely used in mented using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications)
the heating field [21]. Therefore, a WNS2.8-1.0/95/70-Q three- programming.

Table 2 e Composition of the Shanbei natural gas [21].

Component CH4 C2H6 C3H8 C4H10 CO2 H2 N2
Content (vol%) 96.32 0.60 0.08 0.01 2.23 0.04 0.72

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 5

Fig. 2 e Schematic diagram of radiant heat transfer.

shown in Fig. 2. Soviet Standard for Thermal Calculation of

Analytical method and validation Boilers was adopted in this work. At present, there are no
other proven radiation models applied to boilers with H2
Analytical method enrichment. Thus, the model correctness under the condition
of H2 enrichment should be validated before the thermal
In this study, the Soviet Standard for Thermal Calculation of calculation.
Boilers [31] was adopted for the thermal calculation method, For gas-fired boilers, the substances that can contribute to
which is widely used and approved in the industry [32]. The radiative heat transfer are mainly the triatomic gases and the
calculation procedure mainly consists of material and heat soot particles. Fig. 3 shows the volume fraction of Triatomic
balances, as well as heat transfer calculations of radiant gases (including CO2 and H2O) for different H2 blending con-
heating surfaces and convective heating surfaces. Details are centrations. When H2 is enriched from 0 to 100%, the volume
given in Supplementary material S1. content of CO2 falls from 9.16% to 0, while that of H2O in-
See Supplementary material S2 for the thermal calculation creases from 19.27% to 34.21%. And the proportion of
procedure and the formulations of the condenser design. The triatomic gas (CO2þH2O) increases from 28.43% to 34.21%. The
logarithmic mean temperature difference (LMTD) method was proportion of CO2 and H2O changes to some extent over the
employed for the calculation of the temperature difference entire range of H2 enrichment, which has a significant influ-
[25]. The heat transfer correlations selected in this section are ence on flame emissivity.
from Refs. [33e36]. The gas radiation calculation of the Soviet Standard for
Additionally, the CO2 emission intensity is used to evaluate Thermal Calculation of Boilers is based on the gray gas model
the carbon emission reduction potential of HENG. The CO2 and Beer's law. The absorption factor of triatomic gases kq is
emission intensity (kg$J1) is calculated by Ref. [28]: obtained by fitting the Hottel experimental data [31].
M 2 3
VHENG ,VCO2 , 22:4
CO2

ECO2 ¼ (1) 67:8 þ 16r 7 

Q H O
kq ¼ 4 pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi2  15 1  0:37  103 Tfg;f (4)
10pq rq s
where VHENG is the HENG consumption, m3$s1; VCO2 is the
volume of CO2, m3$m3; MCO2 represents the molar mass of
CO2, kg$mol1; Q is the rated heat output, W.

Model validation

As shown by equations (2) and (3), the composition, volumes,

and temperature of the flue gas are changed by H2 enrichment
due to different combustion reactions of hydrocarbons and
hydrogen, which have a particularly important effect on heat
transfer.

n
Cm Hn þ l m þ ðO2 þ 3:764N2 Þ/
4

(2)
n n
n
mCO2 þ H2 O þ ðl  1Þ m þ O2 þ 3:764l m þ N2
2 4 4

H2 þ0:5lðO2 þ 3:764N2 Þ/H2 Oþ ð0:5l 1ÞO2 þ0:5  3:764lN2 (3)

Radiation model validation

In boilers, radiant heat transfer is the most important form of Fig. 3 e Volume fraction of CO2/H2O/Triatomic gas under
heat transfer. A schematic diagram of radiant heat transfer is different H2 fractions in HENG.

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6 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

4.15e4.45 mm, and 13.0e17.0 mm. The main spectral bands of

H2O are 2.55e2.84 mm, 5.6e7.6 mm, and 12.0e30.0 mm. As
shown in Fig. 4, to validate the correctness of the radiative
heat transfer model, the weighted sum of gray gas (WSGG)
model [39] was selected for comparison of the gas emissivity
between two modes with various H2 enrichment. Because the
application range of the molar fraction ratio (H2O/CO2) of the
WSGG model is 0.01e4, the gas emissivity value is compared
in the range of 0e60% H2 fraction. The two models have the
same variability tendency with H2 enrichment. The maximum
relative error between the two models is 4.85%. Therefore, it
can be considered that the calculation of gas radiation ac-
cording to the Soviet Standard for Thermal Calculation of
Boilers [31] in this study is convincible.

Heat transfer correlations validation

It is significant to accurately calculate the heat transfer coef-
Fig. 4 e Comparison of gas emissivity between WSGG and ficient (HTC) for studying the influence of H2 enrichment.
Soviet Standard. Therefore, a comparison and verification of the applicability of
heat transfer correlation are performed as follows. The com-
parison model for the internally ribbed tube is from Ref. [40].
where rH2 O is the volume fraction of water vapor, %; pq rep- The other two comparison models for the smooth tube are
resents the overall partial pressure of triatomic gases, pq ¼ rq- from Refs. [36,41]. Details are given in Supplementary material
$p, Pa; rq represents the proportion of triatomic gases, %; Tfg,f S3.
represents the furnace exit flue gas temperature, K; the A comparison calculation of different models is shown in
effective thickness of the radiant layer s is 0.72 m. Fig. 5. The tendency of variability with H2 enrichment between
Equation (4) needs to satisfy the following experimental the models selected in this study is consistent with that of
parameters range [37,38]. other models. For the internally ribbed tube, the maximum
relative error of the HTC is 12.56%. For the smooth tube, the
(1) PCO2 =PH2 O ¼ 0:2  2; two maximum relative errors between the selected and
(2) PCO2 ,s ¼ ð0:78  161Þ  103 ðm ,PaÞ; compared models are 7.28% and 2.08%, respectively.
(3) PH2 O ,s ¼ ð0:39  128Þ  103 ðm ,PaÞ. H2 enrichment modifies the composition of the flue gas.
And then the thermal properties (Re, lh, Pr) of the flue gas are
According to our calculations, the H2 fraction should be also changed. Fig. 6 depicts the effect of changes in physical
0e75% to satisfy the relation (1). The H2 fraction should be properties due to H2 enrichment on HTC of the internally
0e96% to satisfy the relation (2). While the relation (3) is ribbed and smooth tubes. The viscosity and thermal conduc-
satisfied at any H2 fraction. In summary, equation (4) is tivity of flue gas are calculated according to the Wilke Equa-
satisfied at 0e75% H2 fraction in HENG. Extrapolations may be tion [42] and the Wassiljewa Equation [43], respectively. The
taken for 75%e100% H2 fraction. velocity and inner diameter of the tubes are assumed to be
Gas emission from CO2/H2O is strongly selective in wave- 10 ms1 and 0.05 m. The temperatures of the flue gas in the
length. The main spectral bands of CO2 are 2.65e2.80 mm, internally ribbed and smooth tubes are assumed to be 750 K

Fig. 5 e Comparison of heat transfer coefficients under different models. (a): Internally ribbed tube; (b): Smooth tube.

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 7

and 400 K, respectively. The change in the physical properties

of the flue gas leads to a slight decrease in HTC with H2
enrichment. The HTC fluctuations for the two tubes are 5.18%
and 1.79% over the entire range of H2 enrichment. The fluc-
tuation of the HTC due to the physical properties of the flue
gas is almost negligible, which demonstrates the good
adaptability of the heat transfer model chosen in this study.

Results and discussion

Effect of HENG on heat transfer performance of conventional

boiler

If replacing NG with HENG, it is essential to maintain the

thermal output power constant for the current gas-fired boiler
equipment, which is conducive to ensuring the continuity of
the heating supply. In this section, the effects of H2 blending
Fig. 6 e Effect of physical property change due to H2
on fuel consumption and flue gas volumes, heat transfer from
enrichment on heat transfer of flue gas.
the radiant and convective heating surfaces, and conventional
boiler efficiency are investigated while maintaining a constant
heat duty of 2.8 MW.

Gas fuel consumption and flue gas volumes

The effect of HENG on gas fuel consumption (l ¼ 1.05) is
shown in Fig. 7. With increasing H2 fraction, the total gaseous
fuel consumption VHENG increases rapidly under the constant
heat duty of 2.8 MW, where H2 consumption climbs expo-
nentially while NG consumption drops gradually. When the
H2 fraction in HENG goes from 0 to 100%, the VHENG rises from
0.086 m3$s1 to 0.278 m3$s1. The primary reason for this is the
volume calorific value of H2 is just about one-third that of NG.
Fig. 8 shows the flue gas volume flow rate under various H2
fractions. As the H2 fraction increases, the volume of flue gas
per unit fuel burned Vfg,u decreases linearly, because the flue
gas volume generated by H2 combustion is less than that
generated by NG combustion. Fig. 8 (b) depicts the HENG
consumption variations for gas-fired boilers with different H2
Fig. 7 e Gas fuel consumption under different H2 fractions fractions. It can be obtained that the HENG consumption is
in HENG. almost identical under the different excess air ratios (l ¼ 1.0/
1.05/1.1). Meanwhile, Fig. 8 (b) demonstrates that the H2

Fig. 8 e Total volume flow rate of flue gas with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Flue gas volume per unit fuel burned; (b):
Gaseous fuel consumption; (c): Total flue gas volume flow rate.

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8 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 9 e Radiation absorption factor of the medium and flame emissivity with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Radiation
absorption factor; (b): Flame emissivity.

enrichment leads to a sharp rise in HENG consumption. And

the total flue gas volume flow rate Vfg falls progressively as the
H2 fraction increases [30], as seen in Fig. 8 (c). There has been a
10.33% reduction in Vfg which declines from 0.942 m3$s1 to
0.845 m3$s1 when H2 is enriched from 0% to 100% under
l ¼ 1.05.

Heat transfer of radiative heating surface

Fig. 9 depicts the radiation absorption factor of the medium
(triatomic gases and soot) and flame emissivity under different
H2 fractions. As Fig. 9 (a) shows, the radiation absorption factor
of triatomic gases rapidly increases from 12.63  106 m1$Pa1
to 15.22  106 m1$Pa1, whereas the radiation absorption
factor of soot gradually declines from 1.26  106 m1$Pa1 to
0 under H2 enrichment improved from 0 to 100%. The effect of
HENG on the emissivity of the non-luminous/luminous part of
the flame and the flame emissivity is shown in Fig. 9 (b). The
non-luminous flame emissivity increases with H2 enrichment, Fig. 10 e Flame temperature fluctuation in the furnace with
which is mainly driven by the increase in the proportion of different H2 fractions in HENG.
triatomic gas. The luminous flame emissivity is affected by
both the C/H ratio and triatomic gas fraction. H2 enrichment
decreases the radiant absorption factor of soot, and increases flame temperature of H2 is higher than that of natural gas [45].
the radiant absorption factor of triatomic gas in flue gas, as According to the above analysis of the flame emissivity, the
demonstrated in Fig. 9 (a). When the H2 blending fraction is intensity of the flame radiation is enhanced with H2 enrich-
low, the soot plays a dominant role in the contribution of lu- ment. This means that the flue gas can emit more heat in the
minous flame emissivity as a solid substance. However, with furnace, resulting in a decrease in Tfg,f. The average flame
the further increase of H2 enrichment, the contribution of the temperature Tav of the furnace barely changes over the entire
triatomic gas to the luminous flame emissivity is enhanced. H2 blending range. To be specific, there is a slight decrease in
Consequently, the luminous flame emissivity shows a decline the Tav which only decreases from 1455 K to 1422 K with the H2
followed by an increase, which reaches a minimum at 60% H2 fraction increasing from 0 to 100%. When HENG is used as fuel
fraction in Fig. 9 (b). It is noteworthy that there is a gradual rise gas, there is a slight effect on the average flame temperature
in flame emissivity with H2 enrichment in HENG. Summarily, of the furnace.
H2 enrichment improves the flame radiation intensity in the Fig. 11 depicts the heat transfer from the furnace radiant
furnace. under various H2 fractions. The furnace average temperature
The furnace exit gas temperature Tfg,f is the result of fuel of flame Tav decreases as the H2 is enriched under different
characteristics and heat exchange between the flue gas and conditions, as depicted in Fig. 11 (a). The declining tendency of
the working medium [44], which reflects the proportion of Tav with H2 enrichment is more obvious under the smaller
heat absorption between the radiant and convective heating excess air ratio. The system emissivity ase is mainly deter-
surfaces to some extent. Fig. 10 shows the fluctuation of flame mined by flame and furnace wall emissivity. The temperature
temperature in the furnace with various H2 fractions under and the emissivity of the furnace's walls remain fixed under
l ¼ 1.05. The adiabatic flame temperature Tad boosts as H2 is the constant heat duty of the gas-fired boiler. Therefore, the
enriched in HENG. This is mainly because the higher adiabatic changing tendency of the ase is the same as that of the flame

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 9

Fig. 11 e Radiant heat transfer in the furnace with various H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Average temperature of flame; (b):
System emissivity; (c): Radiant heat transfer capacity.

emissivity. Fig. 11 (b) reveals that there has been a gradual rise Fig. 12 depicts the influence of HENG on the flue gas ve-
trend in the ase with H2 enrichment. Specifically, the ase in- locity in the convective heating surfaces. The flow velocity
creases from 0.2317 to 0.2997 with an increment of 29.35% gradually decreases in internally ribbed and smooth tubes as
under l ¼ 1.05, as the H2 is enriched to 100%. Fig. 11 (c) depicts the H2 fraction increases under different excess air ratios. The
the radiant heat transfer capacity qr increases gradually with reason is that the H2 blending in NG reduces the total flue gas
the increasing H2 fraction under various excess air ratios. volume as shown in Fig. 8. Under l ¼ 1.05 and H2 enriched
Specifically, the qr increases by 17.79% from 5.83  104 W$m2 from 0 to 100%, the flow velocity of the flue gas in internally
to 6.87  104 W$m2 with H2 enrichment boosted from 0 to ribbed and smooth tubes decreases by 19.49% and 15.81%,
100% under l ¼ 1.05. Radiant heat transfer from the flue gas is from 15.65 m$s1 and 8.54 m$s1 to 12.60 m$s1 and
enhanced by the enrichment of H2 in the furnace. 7.19 m$s1, respectively.
The HTC variation of the internally ribbed and smooth
Heat transfer of convective heating surface tubes under l ¼ 1.05 is depicted in Fig. 13. The total HTC for the
The convective heat transfer coefficient is mainly influenced two types of tubes shows a decreasing trend with H2 enrich-
by tube bundle structure, flue gas property, and flow velocity ment. As shown in Fig. 13 (a), the total HTC of the internally
in the internally ribbed and smooth tubes. The tube bundle ribbed tube drops with the increase of H2 blending in NG.
structure has been determined during the design process. And Specifically, when the H2 fraction goes from 0 to 100%, the
the variation of flue gas properties is small with an increase of total HTC of the internally ribbed tube reduces from
H2 fraction as proved in Fig. 6. Consequently, the flue gas flow 46.8 W$m2$K1 to 45.0 W$m2$K1 with a decrease of 3.8%,
velocity is crucial for determining the HTC in internally ribbed including the convective HTC decreases from 50.4 W$m2$K1
and smooth tubes. to 47.8 W$m2$K1. Although the radiant HTC increases from

Fig. 12 e Variation of flue gas velocity with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Internally ribbed tube; (b): Smooth tube.

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10 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 13 e Variation of HTC with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Internally ribbed tube; (b): Smooth tube.

4.7 W$m2$K1 to 5.2 W$m2$K1, the magnitude order of the difference between hot and cold fluids. Therefore, the
radiant HTC is tiny compared with that of the convective. The convective heat transfer capacity qc is employed to assess the
difference between the two types of tubes is that the total HTC impact of HENG on heat transfer performance.
of the smooth tube has a larger decrease than the ribbed tube. The effect of HENG on the qc of the internally ribbed tube is
It is a reduction of 9.2% on HTC for smooth tube with H2 depicted in Fig. 14. The total HTC of the internally ribbed tube
enrichment to 100%. The reason is that the internally ribbed decreases gradually as the H2 fraction increases under
tube strengthens the turbulence intensity of the flue gas since different excess air ratios in Fig. 14 (a). The LHTTD of the
the flow boundary layer is destroyed. internally ribbed tube gradually drops with H2 enrichment, as
It can be concluded that the H2 enrichment reduces the demonstrated in Fig. 14 (b). Fig. 14 (c) reveals that the qc
total HTC of the convective heating surface. This is mainly due steadily declines with an increase in H2 fraction. A case study
to the reduced velocity of the flue gas after H2 blending at of l is 1.05. The LHTTD of the internally ribbed tube reduces by
constant thermal duty. Meanwhile, H2 enrichment has a sig- 20.95%, from 347.63 K to 274.81 K with the H2 fraction
nificant effect on the total HTC of the smooth tube but increasing from 0 to 100%. And the qc of the internally ribbed
essentially no influence on the internally ribbed tube. More- tube decreases by 23.9%, from 1.63  104 W$m2 to
over, since internally ribbed tubes are widely used in gas-fired 1.24  104 W$m2. The qc follows the same declining trend
boilers, the effect of H2 enrichment on the weakening HTC of with LHTTD in the internally ribbed tube. According to the
the convective heating surface is almost negligible. above analysis, both the total HTC and LHTTD decrease with
However, the performance of convective heat transfer de- H2 enrichment, but the LHTTD has a larger impact on
pends not only on the HTC but also on the temperature convective heat transfer.

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 11

Fig. 14 e Convective heat transfer capability of the internally ribbed tube with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Total heat
transfer coefficient; (b): Logarithmic heat transfer temperature difference; (c): Convective heat transfer capacity.

Fig. 15 e Convective heat transfer capability of the internally ribbed tube with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Total heat
transfer coefficient; (b): Logarithmic heat transfer temperature difference; (c): Convective heat transfer capacity.

In contrast to Figs. 14 and 15 shows that the total HTC,

LHTTD, and qc of the smooth tube have the same tendency to
vary as those of the internally ribbed tube. Under l ¼ 1.05 and
the H2 enriched to 100%, the total HTC only decreases by 9.2%.
And the LHTTD of the smooth tube reduces by 35.10%, from
52.25 K to 33.91 K, as depicted in Fig. 15 (a) and (b). Fig. 15 (c)
depicts the qc of the smooth tube falls from 1.54  103 W$m2
to 0.91  103 W$m2 with a decrease of 40.9%, which is nearly
consistent with the variational amplitude of LHTTD in the
internally ribbed tube. It reveals that LHTTD variations in the
convective heating surface due to H2 enrichment have a very
important effect on the qc. The decrease in temperature dif-
ference caused by hydrogen blending is the primary cause for
the reduction in heat transfer power of the boiler's convective
heating surface of the boiler.

Heat absorption ratio

Fig. 16 depicts the heat absorption ratio of the radiative and
Fig. 16 e Heat absorption ratio of radiative and convective
convective heating surfaces for various H2 fractions. It is
heating surfaces with different H2 fractions in HENG.
obvious that radiant heat transfer from the furnace is the
most important form of heat transfer in boilers [46]. As H2
enrichment increases from 0 to 100%, the fraction of radiant smooth tubes decreases from 37.7% and 3.52% to 28.68% and
heat transfer in the furnace increases from 58.78% to 69.25%, 2.08%, respectively. It reveals that the H2 enrichment im-
while the fraction of heat transfer in the internally ribbed and proves the radiation heat transfer from the furnace and

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12 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 17 e Exhaust flue gas temperature and conventional boiler efficiency with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Exhaust
flue gas temperature; (b): Conventional boiler efficiency.

Fig. 18 e The proportion of water vapor and WVDP under different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): Water vapor proportion of; (b):
WVDP.

Fig. 19 e Condensing boiler efficiency with exhaust flue gas temperature under different H2 fractions in HENG.
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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 13

correspondingly decreases that of the convective heating Hence, the efficiency of the boiler is improved due to less flue
surfaces at the constant heat duty for gas-fired boilers. gas heat loss. It highlights the great benefits of using HENG as
a fuel gas in the conventional boiler.
Conventional boiler efficiency
The effect of HENG on the exhaust flue gas temperature and Effect of HENG on flue gas condenser
conventional boiler efficiency is shown in Fig. 17. The EFGT
decreases and the conventional boiler efficiency gradually The effect of HENG on the proportion of water vapor and
increases with increasing H2 fraction for different excess air WVDP is shown in Fig. 18. The WVDP is mainly affected by the
ratios. When the H2 is enriched from 0 to 100%, the EFGT drops partial pressure of water vapor in the flue gas. The variation
from 391.35 K to 382.98 K with a decrease of 7.08% under tendency of WVDP with H2 fraction is consistent with that of
l ¼ 1.05. The efficiency of the conventional boiler increased by the water vapor proportion [24]. Under the same excess air
1.26% points, from 92.61% to 93.87%. H2 enrichment reduces ratio, the water vapor content and WVDP increase linearly
the exhaust flue gas temperature of conventional boilers. with the increase of H2 fraction from 0 to 60% and

Fig. 20 e T-Q diagram of the condenser with different H2 fractions in HENG. (a): 100% NG; (b): 20% H2 þ 80% NG; (c): 40%
H2 þ 60% NG; (d): 60% H2 þ 40% NG; (e): 80% H2 þ 20% NG; (f): 100% H2.

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14 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

exponentially above 60%. The WVDP increases from 332.70 K WVDP, and the flue gas begins to release the latent heat
to 345.61 K with the H2 fraction increasing from 0 to 100% from the water vapor. At the same EFGT, the condensing
under l ¼ 1.05. The increase of WVDP means that the flue gas boiler efficiency increases gradually with H2 enrichment in
can release the latent heat from the water vapor earlier in the HENG [28]. When the EFGT is 318 K, the condensing boiler
condenser. Moreover, it indicates that the latent heat avail- efficiency based on lower heating value increases by 8.77%
able in the water vapor of flue gas is enlarged due to enhanced points, from 101.83% to 110.60% with an enhancement in H2
WVDP with H2 enrichment [25]. fraction from 0 to 100%. The heat loss from the exhaust gas
The variation of the condensing boiler efficiency with the is decreased at the same EFGT under H2 enrichment, and the
exhaust flue gas temperature for various H2 fractions is boiler efficiency is enhanced. If HENG replaces NG as the
depicted in Fig. 19. The efficiency of condensing boiler fuel for condensing boilers, there is a great potential of
gradually increases as the EFGT decreases. The condensing saving fuel gas consumption.
boiler efficiency has a significant inflection point in the EFGT Fig. 20 shows the T-Q diagram of the condenser when the
range from 328 K to 348 K, since the EFGT has reached the H2 fraction in HENG is 0, 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, and 100%,

Fig. 21 e The comparison of Heat transfer rate for the condenser with different H2 fractions in HENG.

Fig. 22 e Heat transfer coefficients comparison for condenser with various H2 fractions in HENG.

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 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx 15

Fig. 23 e Heat transfer area for each zone of the condenser under different H2 fractions in HENG.

assuming a constant pressure throughout. The heat transfer condensing heat transfer regions (zones II, III, and IV) in-
of the condenser is divided into four zones, namely I, II, III, and creases, as the H2 fraction increases. When H2 is enriched
IV, as depicted by the vertical dashed lines as zone bound- from 0 to 100%, the heat transfer rate of zone I drops from
aries. Zone I is the sensible heat release process of flue gas. 0.76  105 W to 0.43  105 W, whereas that of condensing heat
The condensation heat released from the flue gas begins at transfer regions increases from 2.01  105 W to 4.18  105 W.
point b. The b-c section has an almost horizontal condensa- When the H2 fraction goes from 0 to 100%, the condenser heat
tion curve on the flue gas side. This provides that Zone II is the transfer rate increases by 66.63%, from 2.77  105 W to
most intense part of phase-change heat transfer after reach- 4.61  105 W. Although the heat transfer rate in zone I de-
ing WVDP. The remaining zones are separated into zone III creases with an increase in H2 fraction, the heat transfer rate
and zone IV, with water temperature reaching 298 K as a cut- of the condensing heat transfer part of flue gas (zones II, III,
off point. The specific heat capacity of the water is nearly and IV) increases significantly more than the decrease of the
constant as its temperature varies from 288 K to 323 K, thus zone I. Therefore, H2 enrichment enhances the condenser
the water-side heat absorption curve is a straight line on the heat transfer rate.
diagram. Fig. 22 compares the heat transfer coefficients of the
Fig. 21 depicts a comparison of the heat transfer rates for condenser in the four zones for different H2 fractions. The
each zone of the condenser under different H2 fractions. The HTC of different zones are compared as follows: zone II > zone
heat transfer rate in zone I gradually reduces and that of III > zone IV > zone I. The HTC of the single-phase heat
transfer section (zone I) of flue gas almost remains unchanged
at 70.56 W m2 K1 with the increasing H2 fraction. Zone II has
the largest HTC, approximately 676.15 W$m2$K1 under
different H2 fractions, which is nearly 10 times that of zone I.
This is mainly because a large amount of water vapor is
condensed in zone II. The condensation HTC in zone III and IV
enhances gradually with H2 enrichment. For instance, the
HTC of zone III increases by 10.5%, from 381.83 W$m2$K1 to
421.94 W$m2$K1 with H2 enrichment from 0 to 100%. The
water vapor volume proportion rises, and the proportion of
non-condensing gas decreases accordingly under H2 enrich-
ment [28]. This leads to the improvement of HTC in zone III
and zone IV as the H2 fraction increases.
The required heat transfer area is an effective index for
evaluating the condensing capacity of the flue gas condenser.
Fig. 23 compares the required heat exchange area in each zone
for different H2 fractions. The condenser heating surface re-
duces continuously with increasing H2 fraction. With the in-
crease in H2 fraction from 0 to 100%, the total heat transfer
Fig. 24 e The variation of CO2 emission intensity with area required by condenser decreases by 9.2%, from 46.45 m2
different H2 fractions in HENG. to 42.16 m2. In zone I, the required heat transfer area

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16 international journal of hydrogen energy xxx (xxxx) xxx

decreases from 28.95 m2 to 15.09 m2, a decrease of 13.05 m2. In

zone II, III, and IV, the required heat transfer area for the Declaration of competing interest
phase-change heat transfer zones increases from 17.50 m2 to
27.07 m2, an increase of 9.57 m2. With an increase in H2 frac- The authors declare that they have no known competing
tion, the single-phase heat transfer region of flue gas in the financial interests or personal relationships that could have
condenser is shrunken, while the phase-change heat transfer appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
region is enlarged. This means that the location of the baffle
used for collecting condensate may need to be adjusted if
HENG replaces NG [30]. Summarily, although the recoverable Acknowledgments
heat in exhaust flue gas increases substantially after H2
blending in fuel, the original condenser with natural gas as the This work was supported by the Key Research and Develop-
design fuel can meet the heat recovery demand of flue gas for ment Plan of Shaanxi Province (No. 2021GXLH-Z-088).
HENG without increasing the extra heating surface.

Effect of HENG on CO2 emission Appendix A. Supplementary data

The combustion of H2 produces no CO2 emission. The varia- Supplementary data to this article can be found online at
tion of CO2 emission intensity with different H2 fractions is https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2023.02.027.
depicted in Fig. 24. The CO2 emission intensity gradually de-
creases with H2 enrichment [29]. With the increase in H2
fraction from 0 to 100%, CO2 emission intensity reduces from references
6.05  108 kg$J1 to 0 kg$J1.

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Please cite this article as: Yang H et al., Energy saving analysis and thermal performance evaluation of a hydrogen-enriched natural gas-
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