OCR Text |
Show 2 INTRODUCTION The U.S. Department of Energy conducts two industrial combustion Programs which are now under coordinated management within DOE's Office of Industrial Technologies (OIT). These Programs are the Industrial Combustion Technology Program and the Industrial Combustion Equipment Program. The former focuses on the fundamentals of combustion. Its goals are to identify and research new ideas and concepts that can improve combustion efficiency and reduce emissions and the products of incomplete combustion. The latter develops and demonstrates combustion equipment for use by industry. The equipment developed will be both high in efficiency and low in emissions. Ideally, the ideas and concepts identified and researched in the Combustion Technology Program can be transferred to the Equipment Program for development into equipment for use by U.S. industry. Since their inception, both Programs have concentrated on creating an economic advantage for U.S. industry through the research and development of energy efficient, fuel conserving and fuel flexible combustion technology and equipment. Recently, however, corporate emphasis has been shifted to meeting emissions requirements such as those of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) at the lowest possible cost. Both DOE Industrial Combustion Programs reflect the needs of major energy consuming industries and take into consideration the fuels used by industry. The target industries include petroleum, chemicals, metals, pulp and paper, food, glass and cement and equipment/machinery manufacturing. Ideally, the technologies researched and equipment developed will be applicable to more than one industry. U.S. industry bums eighteen percent of all fuels combusted in the U.S. for all purposes. This amounts to about 13 quadrillion Btus annually, or 13 "Quads." Consequently, even a small improvement in efficiency can, on a nationwide basis, result in significant energy savings which can translate into significant cost savings for industry, nationwide. The fuels which U.S. industry uses to supply its energy are shown in Table 1. The data cover fuel used in boilers, process heaters, furnaces and fuel used to generate internally consumed electricity. (The latter tends to overweigh slightly the use of natural gas and solid waste fuels). |