Combustion Canada Conference features five ERC presentations.

Nenad Sarunac, principal research engineer and associate director of the Energy Research Center, presented five technical papers at the recent international Combustion Canada 2003 (CC-03) conference in Vancouver, B.C. Sarunac also chaired a session on advanced controls for combustion system optimization.

The first paper, "Combustion Optimization: Part I - Methodology and Tools," written by Sarunac, ERC research scientist Carlos Romero and ERC director Edward Levy, contained practical details of ERC's approach to combustion optimization.

The second paper, "Combustion Optimization: Part II - Results of Field Studies," by the same authors, presented results of field studies for a variety of boiler designs, firing systems and fuels. Combustion optimization is a practical and cost-effective method for reducing NOx emissions and optimizing performance of fossil fuel-fired boilers.

The third and fourth papers described the results of a collaborative effort by ERC, Natural Resources Canada/CETC-O and Ontario Power Generation in sootblowing optimization and intelligent sootblower control. "Sootblowing Optimization: Part I - Methodology, Instrumentation and Determination of Section Cleanliness," described sootblowing optimization and intelligent sootblowing control technology. It was written by Sarunac and Romero; Jiefeng Shan and Xiaodong Bian, graduate students in mechanical engineering at Lehigh; and colleagues from CANMET and OPG.

"Sootblowing Optimization: Part II - Sootblower Characterization and Implementation of an Intelligent Sootblowing Advisor," written by the same authors, described implementation of the technology at OPG Lambton Unit 4. Sootblowing optimization methodology, invented and developed by ERC engineers, is used to optimize existing sootblowing equipment. Sootblowing removes slag and ash deposits from the boiler heat transfer furnaces. Such deposits have a detrimental effect on boiler performance and emissions.

The fifth paper, "Factors Affecting CEM Measurement Accuracy and Recommendations for Improvement," written by Sarunac, Romero, Levy and Harun Bilirgen, addressed issues affecting continuous emission monitor (CEM) accuracy. CEMs are used to measure emissions of regulated pollutants, such as SOx and NOx. Their measurement accuracy is an important factor in reporting and environmental compliance.