Low-calorific gases.

While natural gas is a central component of the global energy supply, low-calorific substances such as lean gas are niche products. The group of lean gases includes blast furnace gas, formaldehyde gas, vent gas, Corex gas, and CO gas. These gases are produced, for example, in steel production, in the chemical industry, or in other processes, and pose major challenges for combustion technology.

In contrast to natural gas, low-calorific gases often consist to a large extent of inert gases such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide, or water vapor. The combustible components, e.g., carbon monoxide or hydrogen, typically only account for approx. 25% by volume. Their calorific value of 2–15 MJ/m³ is significantly lower than that of natural gas, which means that significant volumes of gas are required to replace natural gas combustion. In addition, they are usually only available at very low delivery pressures, so that poor-quality gases are often not used thermally but flared off.

An SSB-LCG from the SAACKE SSB swirl burner series is ideal for the economical utilization of lean gases. It was specially developed for low-calorific gases and reliably burns even gases with a calorific value of only 2 MJ/m³ without the need for expensive support fuel. Another notable feature is the low pressure requirement of only 10 mbar for the burner.