Are the combustion emissions from your power plant known? We perform emission and particle concentration measurements for power plants and incineration plants, as well as flue gas temperature and flow measurements.

We are a testing laboratory T301 accredited by FINAS accreditation service (accreditation requirement SFS-EN ISO/IEC 17025).

The measurements include the emission measurement of gas components and particles, as well as temperature and flow measurements of flue gases using modern and standard methods. In addition, we provide advice on the safety of the measuring site, its location and the preparation of the right kind of measuring site. The emission measurements include the measurement plan required by the authority and the operating report with its conclusions. If necessary, we provide guidance on the correct and safe use of the facility.

Gas component concentrations are measured using the Gasmet DX4000 FTIR and MRU MGAprime Q NDIR gas analysers. Particle measurements are performed with STL Combi Dust Sampler equipment. The state of the gases (temperature and flow rate) is measured using a VelociCalc micromanometer using a K-type temperature sensor and either an L- or S-pitot tube.

The determination of gaseous emissions is carried out in accordance with the standards for the determination of gaseous emissions (CEN/TS 17337, EN 14789, EN 14790, ISO 12039, SFS-EN 15267-4 and SFS 5624). Particle measurements are carried out in accordance with standard SFS-EN 13284-1 and flow measurements are carried out in accordance with standard SFS-EN ISO 16911-1.

Our accredited services include particle, H2O, CO2, CO, NOx, SO2, O2 concentrations.

The Energy Research Centre offers product development, product testing and training services for technology companies and other organisations operating in energy production, transfer and distribution.

Fuel analysis

Want to find out what you are paying your fuel supplier for?

Our fuel analysis will determine the properties and quality of your fuel, including its moisture content and energy content (calorific value and ash content). The analysis follows SFS EN ISO standards (21654:2021, 18134-2:2017, 18122:2022:en).

Do you want to determine the processing temperature of your product or, for example, separate heavy metals from ash or other side streams? 

The electro-heated high temperature rotary tube furnace enables calcination and heat to process of materials so that the temperature and residence time of the process can be adjusted as desired, as well as carrying out oxidation-reduction reactions using gases fed into the furnace. For example, the furnace can be used to process heavy metal ash so that the heavy metals are vaporized and recovered with a filter, making the processed ash more easily recyclable for recovery in terms of concentrations.

The processing temperatures are from +20 °C to +1000 °C. In a rotary tube furnace, the residence time of the treatment (1⁄2 – 4 hours) can be influenced by adjusting the angle of inclination of the rotary tube.

The material processing can be done by controlling the gas phase. Air or nitrogen and a nitrogen-hydrogen mixture can be used as gases. Other gases are also possible.

Vapors and particles leaving the furnace can be collected on the filter for further investigation.

Do you want to test new alternative fuels or study the effects of contamination on running, ash behaviour or corrosion? Need solutions to problems with ash storage and disposal, but unclear on the composition of the ash?

Bed reaction tests with difficult fuels

(Run model development based on bed reactions and bed layer melting point measurements at different sodium, potassium and aluminium concentrations.)

We can perform bed reaction tests in our test environment using difficult fuels, burning the desired fuel in the fluidised bed boiler and adding fuel containing the problematic compounds while monitoring the melting of the bed and its ash. The purpose of the tests is to find a secondary fuel or sorbent to raise the bed’s temperature limit.

The effects of contamination on running, ash behaviour and corrosion

For the test, a desired running behaviour model is defined in advance with the customer. The boiler is run for periods to achieve the desired contamination and layers on the surface of the corrosion probe. This enables corrosion behaviour, ash fraction and running method adjustment testing.

Properties of ash with different mixed fuels, elementary analysis of ash

Our test arrangements allow the burning of both a primary and a secondary fuel in a fluidised bed boiler, as well as the feeding of catalysts and binders into the fuel and flue gas. Both fly ash and bottom ash can be collected from the fluidised bed boiler, the flues and purifying equipment, allowing the analysis of their elemental composition and solubility.

The Energy Research Centre is utilised in basic and continuing education in energy technology and it also serves as a learning environment for companies in tailored training.

In addition to education for both young people and working adults leading to Bachelor of Engineering the field of Energy Technology also offers other advanced and continuing education in technology for the needs of today and the future.

Contact us and tell us about your training needs!

Power plant boilers play a central role in terms of society’s security of energy supply and the achievements of renewable energy goals regionally, nationally and also in the wider European region. In addition, significant raw materials flows pass through power boilers, for which the utilization in terms of circular economy is important to achieve. In the region of North-Savo, and especially in Central Savo, there is a wide network of energy sector operators, whose economic importance is great . The project’s target group is these companies in the energy and technology sector, the SMEs that provide services for them, as well as energy-intensive operators that use a lot of energy in their production or business.

Objectives of the project:

• The general objective of the project is to develop the operations of North-Savo’s energy sector in such a way that the transition to carbon-neutral energy production takes place in a controlled and socially just way without jeopardizing the security of energy production and at the same time utilizing the raw material flows generated in accordance with the principles of the circular economy.
• The project focuses especially on the controlling of ash-related problems in boilers when switching to more difficult bio- and waste-derived fuels, the utilization and processing of ash and other industrial side streams, and the equipping of pilot and laboratory test environments with advanced measurement methods.

The implementation period of the project is from 1^st October 2022 to 30^th September 2026.

The total cost estimate for the Savonia mainproject is 375.789 euros (development) and 523.750 euros (investments). The project is co-funded by the European Union (70 – 80 %). The private contribution is 6,63 % euros (development project) and the Savonia contribution is 13,37 – 25 %%. The project is carried out together with University of Eastern Finland.

More information: RDI Expert Petteri Heino, Tel. +358 44 785 6759, firstname.lastname@savonia.fi

Objectives of the project:

• Consolidation and expansion of the Northern Savo Energy Cluster.
• Renewable energy industry and RDI activities.

Promotes the formation of carbon-neutral energy production value chains. Promotes the renewable energy industry, including innovation in hydrogen economy, carbon capture and new energy storage systems, through e.g. R&D groups and stakeholders, and through the dissemination of information.

• Development of a subcontractor network for the energy industry.

The implementation period of the project is from 1st.August 2023 to 30^th April 2026

The total cost estimate for the Savonia subproject is 344.439 euros. The project is co-funded by the European Union (75%). The private contribution is 14.93% and the Savonia contribution is 10.07%. The project is carried out together with Navitas Kehitys Oy (executor of the main project) and Savo Consortium for Education.

More information: RDI Expert Petteri Heino, Tel. +358 44 785 6759, firstname.lastname@savonia.fi

https://energyclusternorthsavo.fi/en