Combustion Technologies

For more than 35 years, Southern Research has performed extensive fundamental and applied research in the area of combustion, and we have proven expertise in the development of advanced combustion technologies such as: reburning, low-NOx firing (with both flame and furnace staging); furnace injection for SO₂ capture; sorbents to capture SO₂ and HCI; catalytic combustion; oxy-firing with flue-gas recycle; solid fuel blending (including coal, biomass, and waste); carbon capture and sequestration; and combustion of alternative fuels to meet the Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).

Advanced Testing Equipment and Facilities

Our highly experienced engineers and technicians utilize diverse, state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to perform fundamental and applied combustion testing. Small-scale combustion experiments can be performed in our High-Temperature Drop-Tube Furnace, in bench-top flame experiments, or in small muffle furnaces or other laboratory-scale test equipment. These fundamental tests can be used to answer specific questions about a particular circumstance, or they can allow data collection from which fundamental rate constants and kinetic models can be derived.

The Southern Research Combustion Research Facility (CRF) was developed specifically for applied research relative to full-scale power plants. Since this advanced facility began operation in 1990, it has been used extensively to perform larger-scale fundamental and applied research relative to combustion and air pollution-control technologies. The CRF was specifically designed to fire the wide range of coal types used in the fleet of coal-fired boilers across the United States; however, this facility has also been effective for testing natural-gas-fired technologies and biomass-cofiring as well as waste-incineration technologies.

Southern Research combustion technology resources and capabilities include:

• Combustion Testing and Research
• Biomass Processing and Testing
• Catalyst Evaluation and Sorbent Screening
• Non-Standard Laboratory Scale Technology Evaluation
• Oxy-Firing for CO₂ Mitigation
• Feedstock and Feeders
• Distributed Generation/Combined Heat and Power