United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory
Research Triangle Park. NC 27711
Research and Development
EPA/600/SR-92/084  Sept. 1992
 Project  Summary
Development of  a  Core
Combustion  Research  Program
Plan for  EPA
G. EMair Martin
  In a report entitled, "Future Risks:
Research Strategies for the 1990s," pre-
pared for then-EPA Administrator Lee
Thomas, the EPA Science Advisory
Board stated, "EPA should plan, imple-
ment and sustain a long-term research
program ... in areas where it has
unique  responsibilities and capabili-
ties." Combustion and thermal destruc-
tion was specifically identified as a can-
didate core research area. This report
describes the plan that evolved from a
review of the state of the art in com-
bustion research. A strawman plan was
prepared and reviewed by a panel of
representatives from  industry, acade-
mla, and government organizations. The
plan identifies four cornerstone  areas
where technology gaps are perceived
to exist, and a keystone of basic and
engineering research needed to gener-
alize the technological developments
to a variety of systems.
   This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Air and Energy Engineering
Research Laboratory,  Research Tri-
angle Park, NC,  to announce key find-
Ings of the research project that Is fully
documented In a separate report of the
same title (see Project Report ordering
information at back).
I.   What is the Problem?

The combustion of fuels and
waste will continue to create
environmental problems.
However, the development of
technology to solve these
problems will generate major
opportunities for U.S. Industry.

Combustion, Friend or Foe?
  The combustion of fossil fuels and waste
plays a major role in our lives. Energy
consumed by a country is one measure of
its development  as an  industrialized na-
tion. However, combustion by-products
may create problems. They may: 1) con-
stitute health  risks, and 2) have the poten-
tial  to damage the environment. Society
must not buy the benefits of combustion
at the expense our environment.

New Problems are Inevitable
  In the next decade changes in the com-
position of wastes and fuels will affect the
composition  of combustion by-products.
The developed countries cannot solve glo-
bal  environmental problems abne. The
developing nations must assist in the cost-
effective development and deployment of
environmentally  acceptable combustion
technology to prevent the continued dete-
rioration of the global environment.
                                               Printed on Recycled Paper

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 New Problems will Create New
 Opportunities
  The national and international markets
 for  environmentally acceptable technolo-
 gies will grow rapidly in the next decade.
 This creates a major opportunity for U.S.
 industry.  Reduced imports  of petroleum
 products  and the export of environmental
 technologies could help  to reduce this
 country's trade deficit.

 II  What is the Solution?

 The EPA has a unique mission
 to protect the environment and
 can further It by establishing a
 core research program In
 combustion and thermal
 destruction.

 Combustion Research is
 Crosscutting
  Basic combustion processes are com-
 mon to the  combustion of all gaseous,
 liquid,  and  solid fuels  and wastes. Re-
 search on the  formation and destruction
 of a particular combustion  by-product is
 applicable to a wide range of combustion
 systems.  The  application  of knowledge
 generated by a basic research program
 will identify and solve environmental prob-
 lems of the  next 20 years.

 Core Research Program
 Objectives
  1) Drive pollutai.i reduction technology
 to the limit of technical and economic fea-
 sibility. 2) Develop the capability to predict
 the  amount of all pollutants present in the
 effluent streams of all combustion sys-
 tems. 3} Promote the development of low
 pollutant technology for existing equipment
 and new advanced systems. 4) Provide a
 technology base for improved regulations.

 III.  What is the EPA Role?

 The Agency can provide a
 leadership role by formulating
 and executing a core research
 program that will solve
 environmental problems
 associated with all types of
 combustion systems, fuels, and
 wastes well Into the next
 century.

 The EPA can Develop a Core
 Research Program
  The  EPA is the only Agency with the
 authority to  regulate all combustion sys-
tems that have the potential to emit pollut-
ants in harmful concentrations. Also, the
Agency has the unique mission to protect
human health and welfare and to con-
serve the environment. In certain areas
the EPA  is cooperating with other coun-
tries to control pollutants that spread be-
yond national boundaries. A core research
program  in combustion and thermal de-
struction can be started by the Agency to
generate basic information that will: 1) pro-
vide the  impetus  for industry to develop
new technologies, 2) help the develop-
ment of future  regulation by providing a
sound scientific base, and 3) help to iden-
tify and solve environmental problems cre-
ated by combustion of fuels and waste in
the future.

Focused on Prevention
  The EPA core research plan in  com-
bustion and thermal destruction  should be
distinguished from the efforts of other
agencies   It must provide  for a balance
between  in-house and extramural  activi-
ties. Most importantly, the plan must con-
centrate upon preventing pollutant forma-
tion thereby avoiding the additional  com-
plexity and expense of downstream con-
trols.

Resuts Must be Quantifiable
  The plan is closely  coupled with real
world problems. It is applicable to all fuels
and pollutants. It will generate identifiable
products  in both  the  near and the long
term. These products may be procedures,
solutions  to problems, or prototype pollu-
tion control systems; therefore, the results
of the research plan can be readily quan-
tified.

The EPA Role
  The EPA can assume a leadership role.
The program needs the participation  of
industry. There should be  a balance be-
tween in-house and extramural  activities.
The  existing  infrastructure within the
Agency should be upgraded and a stron-
ger technology base developed. The suc-
cessful execution of the plan requires that
the technical leadership reside within the
EPA laboratories.  The EPA should make
a long-term commitment to  combustion
research  to attract and retain  top  flight
researchers to assume this leadership role.
Because  of the diversity  of equipment
manufacturers, there is a need to transfer
the results of the research to many indus-
tries who  can then use the information to
develop proprietary products. Industry must
take part, but the  EPA can serve in an
impartial role ensuring that the benefits of
this important core research program are
readily available.
IV. What is Proposed?

The Core Research Program Is
based on two components,
cornerstones (applied, system-
specific development projects)
and a keystone (broadly based
fundamental research).

Cornerstones and Keystones
  Cornerstones  are vertically integrated
development projects targeted at specific
problems with outputs: new systems,  ret-
rofit technologies, and design procedures.
The keystone is the heart of the plan. It
includes basic and  engineering research
programs that have  long-term applicability
to a wide range of problems.

Initial Cornerstones Defined
  Figure 1 shows the proposed Core  Re-
search Program  in Combustion and Ther-
mal Destruction. A review of the environ-
mental problems of combustion systems
and a survey of the activities of other
agencies indicated that the EPA program
should  concentrate upon  incineration,
steam generators, area sources, and bio-
mass systems. Figure 1 shows typical cor-
nerstone programs in each of these areas
and keystone projects. The format of a
typical cornerstone program involves sev-
eral coupled projects and an integrated
government, academic, industry team.

V.  What are the Products?

The core research plan was
presented to a Blue Ribbon
Panel of experts. Based on the
panel's recommendations, 10
products have been Identified
as outputs for the first 5 years.

The Plan has been Reviewed
  A Blue Ribbon Panel  of experts from
industry, academia,  and government  re-
viewed the first plan. Panel members were
enthusiastically supportive of the plan. The
panel  made many suggestions, most of
which  were incorporated into the final ver-
sion. Ten priority products were identified
for the first 5 years of the program.

The 10 Products
  Products 1 through 6 are the result of
cornerstone programs and  the remainder
are products of the keystone.

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 1.  A  general assessment procedure
    to  evaluate environmental conse-
    quences of new fuels, wastes, and
    combustion systems.
 2.  An integrated small scale incinera-
    tor.
 3.  Feed systems for solid and viscous
    liquid wastes.
 4.  Optimized biomass combustion sys-
    tems.
 5.  Low NO  combustion systems for
    liquid fuels.
 6.  An evaluation of the total pollutant
    emissions resulting from the use of
    alternate fuels in internal combus-
    tion engines.
 7.  An investigation of the chemistry
    of  polychlorinated dibenzo-p-di-
    oxin/polychlorinated  dibenzofuran
    (PCDD/PCDF) synthesis  from
    products  of  incomplete combus-
    tion (PICs).
 8.  An evaluation of metal release from
    wastes and fuels.
 9.  The development of  surrogates to
    ensure equipment compliance on a
    real time basis.
10.  An expert system for monitoring and
    control of combustion systems.
     ES   OF  THE
FUT
 UAbU, AKiD LNGINEERING

         iSEAitCH
                                     Figure 1.  J^a structure of the Core Combustion and Thermal Destruction Research Program
                                                                               'U.S. Government Printing Office: 1992 — 648-080/60081

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The EPA author, (also the EPA Project Officer, see below), is G. Blair Martin.
The complete report, entitled  "Development of a Core Combustion Research
  Program Plan for EPA," Order No. PB92-180868/AS; Cost: $17.00; subject to
  change) will be available only from:
       National Technical Information Service
       5285 Port Royal Road
       Springfield,  VA 22161
       Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
       Air and Energy Engineering Research Laboratory
       U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
       Research Triangle Park, NC 27711
   United States
   Environmental Protection Agency
   Center for Environmental Research Information
   Cincinnati, OH 45268

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   EPA/600/SR-92/084

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