TOTeM 26
Carbon Dioxide – Control – Concentration – Sequestration – Emissions Trading – . . .

TOTeM 27
Process Heating in Petroleum, Petro-chemical and Chemical industries: Identifying Trends and Satisfying Needs through Leveraged External Research

November is upon us. The Birmingham TOTeM cluster commences three weeks tomorrow.  We have received many expressions of interest with indications from people who intend to participate.  Somewhat more indications than the actual number of registrations we have received!  But they are coming in!   So if you have not registered yet – do so now at:

http://www.combustion-centre.ifrf.net/meetings/totems/birmingham2003/index5.html

All TOTeMs are important but for different reasons.

TOTeM26 is important because right now Carbon Dioxide is the one single factor that affects every IFRF Member Organisation.

The producers – power, steel, cement….. – also emit the CO₂ and are committed to reduce their net CO₂ emissions.  This can be achieved by increased thermal efficiency, replacement of fossil fuels by renewable fuels, or ultimately by CO₂ capture and sequestration.  All solutions involve innovative combustion engineering.

The service industries are expected to help the producers to achieve these ends – to provide the innovative combustion engineering.  The research institutes and universities are expected to provide the scientific foundation on which  innovations may be based.

The EU funded work undertaken in the 1990s, by the IFRF and colleagues at Mitsui Babcock, Air Products, Imperial College and the University of Ulster, included the first semi-industrial scale demonstration of CO₂ concentration, of pulverised coal – oxygen  – recycled flue gas.  It also illustrated the pitfalls/knowledge gaps which must be avoided/filled in, if such combustion techniques are to be applied in industry.

The aim of this TOTeM is to compare the activities being undertaken by the various industrial sectors and to allow optimization of these activities, and to bring all sectors of the IFRF Membership together within these discussions under the leadership of Nick Otter of Alstom.

TOTeM27, as the title clearly indicates, is concerned with the petroleum refining and (petro)-chemical industries.   In the last two years we have addressed the problems of each of our major industrial sectors in turn formulating plans where we can be of best service to our Members.  In TOTeM27, we asked Jim Seebold to address this industrial sector.  He has drawn up an exciting programme – so you should register for TOTeM27.

But if you say “well I am not engaged in petroleum refining…………..  So why should I come?” – the answer is of course if sequestration is truly upon us – and many people say that this is the case – then in TOTeM26 the CO₂ is prepared – for disposal by many of the people in TOTeM27.  If that is not enough, don’t forget – Life is never dull when Jim Seebold is around!