Liquid fuel combustion apparatus

Claim 1

A combustion apparatus comprising: a combustion chamber; a burner adapted to be installed in an opening in said combustion chamber, said burner comprising: an external casing having a peripheral wall; an internal casing having a peripheral wall and an outer end wall closing said internal casing peripheral wall, said internal casing being positioned within said external casing and defining therewith a secondary air channel; and a fuel spraying cylinder extending through said outer end wall and positioned within said internal casing and defining therewith a primary air channel; a source of liquid fuel; a source of gaseous fuel; means for supplying liquid fuel from said liquid fuel source into said fuel spraying cylinder; means for supplying gaseous fuel from said gaseous fuel source into said fuel spraying cylinder and thereby atomizing said liquid fuel, thus forming a mixture of atomized liquid fuel and gaseous fuel; means for generating oxygen-enriched air, said generating means comprising an oxygen permselective membrane, and duct means for supplying air to an upstream side of said membrane, whereby oxygen-enriched air passes through said membrane to a downstream side thereof; means for supplying said oxygen-enriched air as primary air from said downstream side of said membrane through said outer end wall of said internal casing and into said primary air channel, and a fixed vane on the exterior of said fuel spraying cylinder, whereby said primary air travels along said fuel spraying cylinder and is agitated by said fixed vane, and whereby said mixture burns first in said combustion chamber with the thus agitated said primary air; means for supplying atmospheric air as secondary air through said peripheral wall of said external casing and into said secondary air channel, whereby said secondary air spreads out into the entire interior of said external casing and is supplied to said opening, and whereby remaining of said mixture then burns in said combustion chamber with said secondary air; exhaust means for withdrawing exhaust gases from said combustion chamber; and means for passing said air in said duct means in heat exchange relation with said exhaust gases, thereby increasing the temperature of said air supplied to said upstream side of said membrane, and thereby increasing the amount of oxygen of said oxygen-enriched air at said downstream side of said membrane.