Burner Technology

High-performance ceramics for direct and indirect heating



Highly efficient through the use of ceramics

The Use of technical SiC ceramics in thermal process technology substantially contributes to reducing emissions and increasing efficiency of direct and indirect heating systems.

In the future, stronger global efforts must be made to significantly reduce CO2 and NOx emissions from industrial process firing systems. Industrial process furnaces currently account for a significant share of carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. Significantly reducing CO, CO2, and NOx emissions from industrial process firing systems is a global goal to reduce greenhouse gases and pollutants. This goal can be achieved by using highly efficient heat exchangers, innovative combustion technologies, alternative fuels, and electric heating. Advanced ceramics has contributed substantially to in the past decades, and will continue to contribute, to increased combusion efficiency, increased system service life, reduced maintenance costs, and reduced life-cycle costs for combustion systems.

Special technical properties of advanced ceramics

The ceramic material, RB-SiC (silicon infiltrated, reaction bonded silicon carbide) offers an optimum combination of properties, both thermal and mechanical, to advance the components resulting in innovative systems for direct and indirect heating. In addition to its excellent bending and fatigue strength up to an application limit temperature of 1,380°C, its excellent oxidation and corrosion resistance, high thermal conductivity and thermal shock resistance make RB-SiC a particularly attractive option for these burner applications.

The material variant NB-SiC (silicon nitride-bonded silicon carbide) can be used for high temperatures up to 1,470°C and is suitable for direct contact with non-ferrous metal melts (Zn, Al) due to its non-wetting behavior.

The combination of outstanding material properties allows optimum use of the material variants described for the design of system components for thermal process technology. As a result, the increasing requirements for highly efficient combustion concepts and the reduction of pollutant emissions are met to a considerable extent.

Customized solutions from Schunk Technical Ceramics

Schunk Technical Ceramics is a pioneer in the development of materials and manufacturing processes  in thermal process technology for system components, especially for the material RB-SiC. In addition to now more than 30 years of experience in the serial production of radiant and flame tubes as well as recuperator burners, Schunk continues to pioneer new ceramic processes and can now offer large, complex structures using 3D printing (IntrinSiC®.) .

In addition to the system components for indirect heating described above, the product portfolio includes all-ceramic recuperator burners, combustion chambers, air guide tubes, honeycomb bodies for regenerative systems, immersion tubes for non-ferrous metal melts, as well as burner nozzles and other customer-specific molded parts for direct heating (industrial and domestic burners).

In addition to conventional combustion concepts (gas, oil, electricity), the material variants are also suitable for the use of hydrogen as a combustion gas.

Advantages at a glance:

  • Complete ceramic product portfolio of system components for indirect and direct heating with outstanding material properties (e.g. up to approx. 40% higher flexural strength compared to commercially available SiSiC variants) ensure a high level of operational reliability and cost-effectiveness in use.
  • Feasibility of complex structures using world-leading 3D printing technology (IntrinSiC®). Supported by topology optimization when required
  • Innovative and customer-specific solutions thanks to strong process and materials expertise