Patent ID: 7028622

Claim:
A burner assembly for combining oxygen and fuel to produce a flame, the burner assembly comprising a fuel supply system including a solid-fuel conduit formed to include a fuel transport passageway mixing means for mixing a stream of oxygen with fluidized, pulverized, solid fuel conducted through the fuel transport passageway prior to combustion to produce a mixture that can be ignited in a flame chamber to produce a flame wherein the mixing means includes an oxygen flow passage and a oxygen-fuel nozzle positioned to lie in the oxygen flow passage and formed to include an oxygen-fuel transport passageway, a fuel inlet opening located to admit fluidized, pulverized, solid fuel discharged from the fuel transport passageway into the oxygen-fuel transport passageway, and an oxygen-fuel outlet opening located to discharge an oxygen-fuel mixture into the flame chamber, and upstream oxygen-injection holes arranged to conduct oxygen flowing in the oxygen flow passage into the oxygen-fuel transport passageway to mix with fluidized, pulverized, solid fuel flowing in the oxygen-fuel transport passageway toward the oxygen-fuel outlet opening to establish a combustible oxygen-fuel mixture flowing in the oxygen-fuel transport passageway and exiting through the oxygen-fuel outlet opening, and wherein the oxygen-fuel nozzle includes a cylindrical interior wall communicating with the fuel inlet opening and defining a first-stage portion of the oxygen-fuel transport passageway and the oxygen-fuel nozzle further includes a frustoconical interior wall extending from the cylindrical interior wall to the oxygen-fuel outlet opening to diverge in a direction toward the oxygen-fuel outlet opening and defining a second-stage portion of the oxygen-fuel transport passageway, and further comprising diverter means located in the second-stage portion for interrupting flow of the combustible oxygen-fuel mixture flowing toward the oxygen-fuel outlet opening to cause some of said mixture to flow along the frustoconical interior wall toward the oxygen-fuel outlet opening.