Fuel combustion in engines, power plants, boilers, furnaces, and other equipment provides energy for transportation, heating, electricity, and goods manufacturing. Optimizing efficiency while lowering pollutant emissions is the main goal of industrial combustion, and reaching those goals, coupled with climate-change issues, has triggered a great deal of research in this field. One approach to improving the efficiency and emissions performance of a combustor is to apply advanced control techniques for both new and existing installations.

This article presents several methods of advanced control for combustion, ranging from new diagnostic techniques to enhanced control schemes. Key benefits are cost savings through higher efficiency, environmental benefits through lower levels of pollutants, and increased safety.