Yesterday at the biennial meeting of the Combustion Institute President Hai Wang outlined some of the achievements and challenges facing the organisation.
As a non profit initiative the CI has been highly successful in organising the scientists working in the field of combustion giving them a platform to publish their findings as well as exchange ideas during in person meets and symposiums.
Even as the focus shifts towards electrification, combustion science remains important and this was reflected in the membership of CI which grew to 10 thousand and the number of papers published which crossed the 1.2 thousand figure mark indicating healthy activity.
CI has managed to remain cash flow positive which enabled it to function as an independent organisation. This is a significant achievement for a non profit as it generally has to depend upon donations for its financial health. Being cash flow positive has allowed the CI to maintain its research integrity.
As President Wang noted, combustion science is undergoing a period of rapid transition. The pivot towards green fuels and condensed phase combustion means that traditional fossil based research could slow down but it also presents an opportunity to expand CI’s footprint into fluid dynamics, phase transformation and chemistry. The CI through its journal Combustion and Flame :Condensed Phase is seeking to capture this unique multi disciplinary intersection. This new journal will complilement the already popular Combustion and Flame as well as Proceedings of the combustion institute.
Organisationally speaking CI has sprouted several local institutions in nations around the world. Notably limited however was its presence in Africa and given how Africa is rapidly expanding its oil and gas output I would not be surprised if it becomes a more active member of the combustion community.
Having said that, it is undeniable that combustion science will face significant competition from growing electrification which has already proven itself in land propulsion and may even find success in air and sea propulsion.
By making smart choices, the combustion science community can secure their future. Combustion would remain relevant in industrial manufacturing , by shifting focus from direct chemical processes to fluid based heat transfer , combustion scientists can expand into plasmas & long duration thermal energy storage and transformation via fluids.
More importantly it has now become necessary to conceptualise and develop engines with built in heat recovery for higher fuel exergy. Fuel burning is no longer enough. Exhaust heat recovery is important especially in cases where fuels generated from renewable energy are used.
Creation of hydrocarbon fuels from hydrogen that could bypass limitations of low volumetric density and of extreme material requirements necessary for NH3 combustion presents another important and highly relevant area for research.
While electrification is gaining all the attention for being green there is no scientific or economical reason why power couldn't instead be transported as green fuel and electricity be generated right where it's needed. In fact such an approach could be more beneficial for developing nations as mechanical transmission is simpler and more efficient. This is possibly combustion science’s greatest strength. Its mechanical simplicity makes it accessible without requiring massive investment giving almost infinite flexibility to develop industrial applications around it.
In fact electricity to chemicals is a rapidly advancing field of Long Duration Energy Storage that could keep combustion relevant even with electrification.
The work that the combustion institute is doing as a non profit is admirable. I wish it success in the future and hope it collaborates more with research institutions and organisations working in the same space.
Comments
Post a Comment