The optical laser sensor, which will be used for industrial purposes, will save 20 million-kilowatt hours a year or about a million dollars worth of electricity, says Professor Murray Thomson of the department of mechanical and industrial engineering. "Because the sensor improves the energy efficiency of the furnace, it will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions," he adds.
The steel industry is a huge energy consumer, Thomson notes, but its furnaces lose 30 per cent of the energy they use through the exhaust. The sensor measures thermal and chemical energy losses, information that is entered into a process control system. The system then readjusts parameters - such as the amount of fuel and oxygen entering the furnace - to lower energy consumption. Since the sensor depends on a laser, it is reliable in the harsh furnace environment and has a quick response time when measuring excess energy.
"With the Kyoto Accord, there is a lot of interest in improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse emissions," says Thomson. "This is definitely a way to improve energy efficiency in the steel industry and can easily be used in other combustible applications."
Thomson and his colleagues have applied for a patent and signed a commercialization agreement for the sensor. Funding for the research was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Unisearch Associates of Concord, Ont.
CONTACT: Professor Murray Thomson, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, 416-978-1827, thomson@mie.utoronto.ca or Lanna Crucefix, U of T public affairs, 416-978-0260, lanna.crucefix@utoronto.ca