What Is a Package Burner? Complete Industrial Burner Packages Explained

A package burner is a complete industrial combustion system in which the burner, combustion-air supply, fuel controls and safety equipment are supplied as an integrated unit.

Unlike a standalone burner head, a package burner contains the main components needed to generate, control and supervise heat safely. These systems are commonly used with industrial ovens, dryers, kilns, furnaces and process-air heaters.

Rapidflame supplies plug-and-play packaged combustion systems for new equipment, retrofit projects and OEM machinery.

What does a package burner include?

The exact equipment depends on the application, but a typical industrial burner package includes:

• Burner head – mixes the fuel and combustion air and produces the required flame.

• Combustion-air fan – supplies air at the flow and pressure needed by the burner.

• Fuel train – normally includes isolation, pressure regulation, safety shut-off valves, pressure switches and associated pipework.

• Ignition system – uses direct spark ignition or a separate pilot burner.

• Flame supervision – confirms that a flame is established and shuts off the fuel safely if it is lost.

• Burner management system – controls purging, ignition, flame proving, operating interlocks and fault shutdown.

• Firing-rate controls – regulate heat output using on/off, high/low or modulating control.

The system may be mounted directly onto the process equipment or supplied on a common frame or skid.

How does a package burner work?

Before ignition, the control system checks the safety interlocks and starts the combustion-air fan. The oven, dryer or furnace is then purged with air to remove any unburned gas.

The ignition system starts the pilot or main flame, which must be confirmed by the flame detector. The main gas valves can then open and the burner moves to its operating condition.

During production, the burner output responds to the temperature demand from the process. If the flame, airflow, gas pressure or another critical condition is lost, the burner management system closes the fuel valves and initiates a safe shutdown.

Package burner versus burner head

A burner head is only the component in which fuel and air are mixed and burned.

A package burner combines that burner with the fan, fuel train, ignition, safety controls and operating controls required to make it function as a complete system.

The precise scope should always be confirmed before ordering. Items such as the control panel, gas-pressure regulating equipment, process sensors, cabling and commissioning may not be included in every supplier’s definition of a “complete package”.

For more information about the wider range of available designs, see our guide to industrial gas burners and their configurations.

Why use a packaged burner system?

Supplying the combustion equipment as a coordinated package offers several advantages:

• components are selected to operate together;

• installation and integration are simpler;

• safety and operating sequences are clearly defined;

• factory assembly reduces site work;

• commissioning can be faster;

• responsibility for the combustion package is clearer; and

• maintenance and replacement parts are easier to manage.

Package burners are especially useful for OEMs, equipment builders and operators replacing an ageing combustion system without replacing the complete oven or dryer.

Common applications

Industrial package burners are widely used for:

• grain, food, textile and chemical drying;

• bakery and curing ovens;

• industrial process-air heating;

• heat-treatment furnaces and kilns;

• incinerators and thermal oxidisers; and

• machinery requiring a compact, integrated heat source.

Rapidflame package burner systems are available for natural gas, LPG and other fuel-gas applications, with control arrangements configured for the process.

How to choose a package burner

The burner must be selected around the process—not simply by matching its maximum heat output.

Important factors include:

• minimum and maximum heat input;

• operating temperature;

• fuel type and available supply pressure;

• required flame shape;

• chamber dimensions and pressure;

• required turndown and control accuracy;

• process airflow;

• emissions requirements;

• available installation space; and

• applicable safety standards.

For a detailed specification guide, read How to Choose an Industrial Package Burner for Process Heating.

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Complete package burners from Rapidflame

Rapidflame designs and supplies industrial gas burner systems and complete packaged combustion systems for ovens, dryers and other process-heating equipment.

Systems can be configured around the required heat input, fuel, flame geometry, operating range and plant-control interface.

Contact Rapidflame to discuss a new package burner or the replacement of an existing industrial combustion system.

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