The partial substitution of natural gas with hydrogen is becoming an increasingly attractive approach to reduce the carbon footprint of combustion processes. Due to the lack of experience in hydrogen applications in combustion systems, major technical challenges arise that make its implementation difficult. Therefore, this work discusses the properties of the reaction zone during the combustion of a mixture of methane and hydrogen using experimental analysis on a modified Bunsen burner. Using an advanced diagnostic method of optical imaging of OH* and CH* radicals, insight into the reaction zone of different mixtures under different operating conditions is provided, which allows quantification of the impact of added hydrogen to natural gas. The results reveal that the impact of hydrogen addition on the reaction zone is not linear, since despite the higher reactivity of the mixture at a very high hydrogen content, the risk of flame extinction is intensified. The obtained results enable the optimization of combustion systems and accelerate the transition to low-carbon technologies.
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