NGK Insulators (NGK) has announced that it has installed a firing furnace developed in-house for a mass production demonstration, with a view to introducing hydrogen combustion firing furnaces for actual use. The company says it will develop a hydrogen burner for mass production facilities and work towards introducing it at hydrogen combustion mass production facilities. By implementing firing that does not generate CO2 emissions, NGK aims to reduce these emissions by approximately 300 000 tons per year and achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Hydrogen combustion firing furnaces for ceramics have not yet been put to practical use, but the firm has been conducting hydrogen flame evaluation tests in a test furnace installed at its headquarters for over a year, with the aim of developing a firing furnace with high temperatures and excellent temperature uniformity.
A new firing furnace, 7 m wide, 2 m deep, and 4 m high, will be installed at the hydrogen combustion test field located at Toho Gas’ technical research institute in Tokai City. The aim is to develop a hydrogen regenerative burner* for mass production facilities that can save approximately 50% of energy compared to conventional burners.
The hydrogen combustion test field will enable burner endurance tests to be conducted at temperatures of 1400 to 1600°C, some of the highest temperatures in the firing of ceramics and will enable the evaluation and verification of high-performance ceramic products fired for long periods of time.
A demonstration experiment will begin in June 2023, with the goal of establishing hydrogen combustion technology for mass production by 2025 so that it can be introduced at domestic and overseas mass production facilities from 2030.
Expertise gained from the development of hydrogen combustion will be transferred to the verification of combustion technologies using other non-fossil fuels, such as ammonia. To achieve net zero emissions by 2050, NGK will continue to promote the development of technologies that use clean energy in the production of ceramics and will contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.
*A regenerative burner performs both combustion and exhaust through internal ceramic heat storage. By alternating between combustion and exhaust, the exhaust heat from the combustion gas is recovered from the heat storage and is reused to preheat the combustion air, resulting in high thermal efficiency.
