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Show EMISSIONS OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS FROM STATIONARY COMBUSTION SOURCES: NUMERICAL MODELING CAP ABILmES James G. Seebold Chevron Research and Technology Company Richmond, CA 94802 Robert J. Kee and Andrew J. Lutz 1:- VC:VANh5 Sandia National Laboratories Sandia, CA 94551 William J. Pitz and Charles K. Westbrook Lawrence LIvermore National Laboratories Li vermore, CA 94551 Selim Senkan University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 90024 ABSTRACT A collaborative research program has been initiated to study the emissions of a wide variety of chemical species from stationary combustion systems. These product species have been included in the Clean Air act legislation and their emissions must be rigidly controlled, but there is a need for much better understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms that produce and consume them. We are using numerical modeling techniques to study the chemical reactions and fluid mechanical factors that occur in industrial processes: we are examining systems including premixed and diffusion flames, stirred reactors and plug flow reactors in these modeling studies to establish the major factors leading to emissions of these chemicals. In addition, we are applying advanced laser diagnostic techniques to validate the model predictions and to study the possibilities of developing sophisticated sensors to detect emissions of undesirable species in real time. This paper will discuss the organization of this collaborative effort and its results to date. INTRODUCTION Air quality regulations make the emissions of toxic chemicals, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC's) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx), an important factor in the design of natural gas burners and other industrial scale combustion systems. In order to design low-emission burners, engineers must understand what controls pollutant production. Currently, designers must rely on cut-and-try procedures, because they lack models of emissions from practical burners. If such models existed, they could be used to investigate the effect of design parameters to minimize emissions. The models could also elucidate the physical phenomena that control the emissions and the design tradeoffs that exist. -1- |