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Show 2 The subject of this symposium is an indication that the status quo is not an acceptable option and that change has to come. We have to get into a position to manage that change. The real danger we all face is having legislation imposed on us by people who have no real understanding how our high temperature plant operates. Whether our enlightened legislators impose a carbon tax or pollution credits the uncertainty in the meantime is affecting the purchasing decisions of companies operating in the province of Ontario. We need to see some realistic guidelines soon so that we can all start moving in the same direction. One option would be an addition to the safety code of minimum control system standard for particular applications. Including equipment to compensate for temperature changes in recuperators for example, or to isolate extraneous pressure fluctuations in a multi burner control systems. Such a code should be widely considered and speedily implemented. The next danger in the scenario is that the environmental legislation will come under the jurisdiction of the various ministries of the environment and that new systems will be subject to separate special licence, similar to the way special approval is given to industrial equipment by the CGA. This process can be slow and costly for the applicant and can be daunting for the uninitiated. It does have the advantage that the equipment is inspected before it is passed and it would be a simple matter for the inspection to include a an observation of the emissions from the equipment. Without any laws, guidelines or enforceable minimum standards not much of the technology we will and have been discussing will be seen in Canada. In the meantime there are a number of simple things which should be done and that make perfect sense in the present industrial climate. The first is to ensure that furnaces are well insulated and well sealed. I am quite often asked to visit a plant to discuss the very latest in recuperative or regenerative technology only to find that it is almost impossible to approach the furnace because of the hot gas escaping from doors and heat seals. In some instances I have seen a furnace so badly pressurised that the burners can only force so much hot gas into the furnace with majority escaping to heat the roof beams. In some cases I have seen the charge end of the furnace in the path of a make up air heater or a workshop door. Air can be introduced into the chamber imposing an extra heating load on the furnace. I have also seen a situation where there is such a high negative pressure in the workshop that cold air is being drawn slown the furnace flues. By fixing heat seals, furnace pressure and chamber access doors it is often quite possible to gain significant fuel input reductions or performance improvements and this is usually done through the maintenance budget. Some creative accounting can show justification for these measures as a bottom line payback. The effect on emissions is that the mass of the emissions are being reduced for the process. In the following discussion it is assumed that the furnace to which the new technology is being proposed is already as efficient as possible. |