RBF neural network inferential sensor for process emission monitoring

Inferential sensing, or soft sensing, gained popularity in recent years as an alternative to continuous emission monitoring systems because of its simplicity, reliability, and cost effectiveness as compared to analogous hardware sensors. In this paper we address the problem of NOx emission using a model of furnace of an industrial boiler, and propose a neural network structure for high performance prediction of NOx as well as O2. The studied boiler is 160 MW, gas fired with natural gas, water-tube boiler, having two vertically aligned burners. The boiler model is a 3D problem that involves turbulence, combustion, radiation in addition to NOx modeling. The 3D computational fluid dynamic model is developed using Fluent simulation package. The model provides calculations of the 3D temperature distribution as well as the rate of formation of the NOx pollutant, enabling a better understanding on how and where NOx are produced. The boiler was simulated under various operating conditions. The generated data is then used for initial development and assessment of neural network soft sensors for emission prediction based on the conventional process variable measurements. The performance of the proposed soft sensor is then evaluated using actual data from an industrial boiler. The developed soft sensor achieves comparable accuracy to the continuous emission monitor analyzer, however, with substantial reduction in the cost of equipment and maintenance.