Patent ID: 8627775

Claim:
A burner apparatus for generating a heated gas stream for a process heating system, the apparatus comprising: a combustion air damper having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, wherein the inlet is coupled to an air supply and wherein the combustion air damper is operable to adjustably control the volume of air exiting the plurality of outlets; a combustion chamber having a top, a bottom, a plurality of sidewalls, a fuel grate, a flue, and a fuel door, wherein the fuel grate is suspended above the plurality of combustion air damper outlets, wherein the top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls are steel without refractory material lining, and wherein the fuel door is steel with refractory material lining; a flue gas damper having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the flue gas damper is operable to selectively allow or disallow flue gas to exit through the combustion chamber flue; a cooling jacket having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the cooling jacket is a steel sheeting surrounding and narrowly spaced from the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls, wherein the inlet is coupled to an air supply, wherein the cooling jacket is operable to conduct air from inlet to outlet and to transfer heat from the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls and into the air to thereby prevent the combustion chamber top, bottom, and plurality of sidewalls from overheating and to generate heated air at the outlet; and a turbulation device having an inlet and an outlet, wherein the inlet is coupled to the flue gas damper outlet and to the cooling jacket outlet, wherein the turbulation device is operable to combine flue gas and heated air into a turbulent air-gas mixture, to complete combustion of the turbulent air-gas mixture, and to output a heated gas stream though the outlet; a blower; and an air supply manifold having an inlet and a plurality of outlets, wherein the inlet is coupled to the blower, wherein at least one outlet is coupled to the combustion air damper inlet and at least one outlet is coupled to the cooling jacket inlet, and wherein the air supply manifold is operable to supply air to at least one additional burner apparatus.