Laboratory Facilities at CETC - Ottawa

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The Clean Electric Power Generation (CEPG) Group partners with industry to improve combustion processes for energy efficiency and emissions. Facilities for the Group include:

• A well equipped analytical laboratory;
• Biomass fluidized bed reactor (from Queen's University);
• Bubbling fluidized bed combustor (3.7 Gj/h);
• Burner cold test facility;
• CARS laser;
• Calorimetric tunnel furnace;
• Circulating fluidized bed combustor (3.7 Gj/h);
• Circulating fluidized bed combustor, bench-scale;
• Circulating fluidized bed combustor, pilot-scale;
• Computer modeling laboratory;
• Entrained flow combustion reactor, pilot-scale;
• Flame research tunnel furnace;
• Flame research tunnel furnace (3.7 Gj/h);
• Flare test facility;
• High efficiency residential laboratory;
• Mobile emissions testing facility;
• Oil laboratory for emissions testing;
• Research boiler (3.7 Gj/h), pilot-scale;
• Rotary kiln (1MW), pilot-scale;
• Stoker fired industrial grate boiler, pilot-scale;
• Vertical combustor (1.1 Gj/h).

The Characterization Laboratory (CL) specializes in the analysis of process-derived chemicals, fuels, fuel-related products and by-products in the solid, liquid or gaseous states. The ISO 9001:2000 registered laboratory conducts physical, chemical, elemental, spectroscopic, chromatographic and molecular characterization and data interpretation. Characterization methods can be customized to meet particular client requirements. The laboratory is equipped for / with:

• Coal and Coke Analysis (proximate, ultimate);
• Ultra Low Sulphur; Refinery Gas Analysis;
• Environmental Analysis (e.g. trace elements, organics), etc.;
• Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR)/ Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA);
• Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA);
• Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization,
• Flame Photometric and Mass-selective Detectors;
• Gas-oil Analysis;
• Gasoline, Diesel and Jet Fuel Analysis;
• High Resolution Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectroscopy (HRGCMS);
• Quantitative X-ray Diffraction (XRD);
• and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF).

The Community Energy Systems (CES) Group enables Canadian communities to meet their energy needs using more efficient and cleaner technologies. The Group operates a laboratory for testing, developing and simulating district-energy technologies. Facilities and capabilities of the Group include:

• conducting feasibility studies;
• designing district heating and cooling systems;
• developing community energy plans;
• developing new district cooling technologies;
• developing system-design software;
• making innovative enhancements to new and existing equipment;
• microturbine systems suitable for applications ranging from remote locations to city centres;
• troubleshooting requiring specialized expertise;
• a small-scale simulation of a district heating system for testing new energy transfer station designs for residential use;
• a test loop for examining friction-reducing additives in water, which is useful for analyzing drag reduction and heat transfer properties.

The Energy Technologies for High Temperature Processes (EHTP) Group supports Canadian coal producers and iron makers with R&D; projects such as extending the life of coke ovens, improving coke quality, materials engineering of coke, alternative coke-making technologies, and fuel injection into blast furnaces. The Group's facilities and capabilities include:

• Advanced analytical / micro structural instrumentation and techniques such as TG-FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDAX for chemical analysis (shared with Characterization Lab);
• Briquetting, agglomeration;
• Coal preparation capabilities (complete pilot plant blending, crushing, pulverization and sampling);
• Four pilot-scale, pressure measuring moveable wall coke ovens; three sole heated coke ovens;
• High temperature facilities for determining strength (CSR), reactivity (CRI) and high temperature properties of coke;
• Injection simulator;
• Laboratory for coal and coke evaluation;
• Modeling and simulation studies;
• Petrographic, microscopic and image analysis systems for coal and coke;
• Standard methods and facilities for evaluating coal and coke (ISO, JIS, ASTM);
• Thermal rheology equipment for measuring plastic properties of coal and understanding the coal to coke transformation process;
• Thermogravimetric analysis equipment;
• Windtunnel facilities.

The Renewable Energy Technologies (RET) Group supports the development and deployment of cost-effective renewable energy technologies. RET provides funding for laboratories and test facilities to ensure their continued availability to industry. Facilities include:

• National Solar Test Facility (NSTF)- located at Bodycote Materials Testing Canada Inc. in Mississauga, Ontario; includes the world's largest indoor solar simulator;
• (www.na.bodycotemt.com/docLibrary/Solar_Test_Facility.pdf);
• Atlantic Wind Test Site (AWTS) - dedicated to the testing, evaluation and certification of wind energy conversion systems for electricity production;
• (http://www.awts.pe.ca/);
• Hydro Turbine Testing and Simulation Centre - Laval University's Small Hydro Turbine Test Facility combines computer simulation and modeling of hydro turbine flow with laboratory testing and research services.

The Group's software assets include:

• RETScreen Renewable Energy Project Analysis Software: a unique decision support tool that can be used to evaluate the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emission reductions for various types of renewable energy technologies anywhere in the world;
• Integrated Method for Power Analysis (IMP): a suite of software programs for small scale hydro projects and for other hydrological applications;
• SWIFT: a software program that models the behavior of solarwalls;
• Enerpool: a software program that models the performance of a solar collector used for heating indoor and outdoor swimming pools; CANMET Energy Technology Centre - Varennes Scientific Reports and Business Documents - CETC-Varennes Online offers electronic versions of publicly available scientific reports and general business documents.

The Processing and Environmental Catalysis (PEC) Group conducts research and development to solve industrial process problems and improve their environmental and economic benefits. The Group's work includes:

• development of technologies for NOx removal from engine emissions;
• enhancing market opportunities for natural gas by its conversion to hydrogen and other value-added products;
• process development for the production of high quality transportation fuels from low-value used oil or from renewable sources.

The Group's catalyst testing facilities are available to research groups and industrial clients on a confidential basis. They include:

• GECIL-Distel batch distillation unit (ASTM 2892);
• additional catalyst characterization equipment such as ESCA, XRD are accessible the CETC's Characterization Laboratory;
• bench-scale version of the ROBYSTM process, used to purify and stabilize reclaimed and refined gas oils;
• catalyst preparation equipment;
• continuous-flow slurry reactor system;
• fully automated reaction system for methane reforming studies;
• inorganic membrane preparation and testing equipment;
• medium and high-pressure catalyst-testing facilities;
• micro-reactor systems for scouting tests and rapid catalyst screening;
• semi-pilot scale plants for catalyst evaluation;
• simulating processes and configuration optimization using computer software;
• surface area measurement by BET gas absorption.

For more information on laboratory facilities, contact:

Geoff Murphy
Manager, Business Development Office
CANMET Energy Technology Centre
Natural Resources Canada
1 Haanel Drive
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 1M1

E-mail: gmurphy@nrcan.gc.ca