Thermal Processes Department carries out research and development related to thermal energy conversion. It also performs measurements as well as energy devices diagnostic and research related to the analysis and implementation of new high-duty energy technologies. Thermal Processes Department offers gasification reactors and complete solutions for pulverized coal burners and crushed biomass, for which patent rights have been obtained and are currently deployed in more than 50 power plants and thermal power plants.

Research areas of the Department include in particular:

• heat-flow processes occurring in power boilers,
• optimization of combustion processes in terms of reducing emissions of nitrogen oxides and eliminate corrosion and slugging phenomena,
• diagnosis and design of combustion chambers of boilers,
• new construction of dust burners for coal and biomass combustion,
• preparation and transport systems of pulverized coal and biomass,
• fuel quality testing, including coal, biomass, municipal waste,
• thermal conversion of biomass and waste - co-firing, combustion, pyrolysis, gasification,
• clean coal technology - development of oxygen combustion technology that allows for the capture of CO_2,
• high efficiency cogeneration in distributed systems, based on a combination of gasification technology with combustion in the internal combustion engine or with fuel cells.

 The Department performs on request:

• conceptual and design works supported by professional software for engineers: AutoCAD and Solid Works,
• development and implementation of new technologies,
• semi-technical tests and measurements in operating conditions,
• technical counseling and engineering supervision, development of materials for specification of the tender,
• feasibility studies and techno-economic analysis,
• "turnkey" installation delivery.

 In all activities, the Department tries to work comprehensively using:

• measurements and testing of boilers and auxiliary equipment, including:
• measurements of exhaust gas temperature,
• measurements of gaseous emissions in the exhaust ducts (NO, SO2, O2, NH3),
• measurements of the temperature distribution and composition of the gas in the boundary layer,
• study the efficiency of boilers,
• measurements of air and exhaust fans,
• measurements of leakage of combustion chambers, exhaust ducts and rotary air heaters,
• study of mill installations - grinding quality and distribution of dust mixture
•  numerical modeling

The Department possesses its own computational center, which is based on a multi-processor cluster to carry out a parallel computing. Calculations are made using licensed programs such as Fluent, ASPEN Plus, MatLab, Mathematica.
Numerical modeling is applied as a tool for both optimization of existing equipment, as well as developing new technologies. Performing multivariate numerical calculations makes it possible to compare different design variants with variants of the unit work, which helps in choosing the best solution at a relatively low cost.

•  tests on own laboratory research stands

The Department has unique and specialized research facilities, which enable carrying a complete set of studies from basic research in the laboratory to testing prototypes on an industrial scale to develop new, ready-to-implement solutions. The subjects of research are, among others, dust and gas burners, combustion chambers, as well as solid fuel gasification reactors.

The successes of the Department result from knowledge, skills and innovation, supported by many years of experience.

The head of the Department is Piotr Jóźwiak PhD