A wood stove monitoring and control device can include a mounting flange mountable to a chimney exhaust pipe of a wood stove. The device can include a ring removably mountable on top of the mounting flange, where the flange is suitably positioned vertically along the exhaust pipe so that the ring is positioned at least partially above an end of the exhaust pipe. The device includes an optical beam source disposed on the ring, and which generates and outputs an optical beam. The device includes an optical sensor positioned on the ring opposite the optical beam source to detect the optical beam output by the optical beam source as the optical beam passes through smoke exhausted by the wood stove through the exhaust pipe. The device can include a temperature probe disposed on the ring to measure a temperature of heat exhausted by the wood stove through the exhaust pipe.

A duel-fuel fireplace apparatus is described. In one example, an apparatus includes an enclosure having a door disposed thereon and a wood burning compartment disposed within the enclosure. The wood burning compartment has an insulated housing configured to support temperatures associated with burning of wood within the wood burning compartment. A gas burning compartment is also disposed within the enclosure and has a gas burner disposed therein. A mechanism including a motor is configured to cause movement between a first mode in which the wood burning compartment is viewable through the door and a second mode in which the gas burning compartment is viewable through the door.

A method for operating a combustion chamber is provided. The method includes obtaining a carbon monoxide reading at an exit of the combustion chamber via a carbon monoxide sensor, and deriving an oxygen set point trim based at least in part on the carbon monoxide reading and a carbon monoxide set point via a controller. The method further includes determining a stability status of the combustion chamber via a combustion stability sensor, and adjusting an oxygen set point of the combustion chamber with the oxygen set point trim based at least in part on the stability status via the controller. The oxygen set point defines a desired oxygen level at the exit of the combustion chamber.

A method for regulating a wood burner that burns wood pellets. For a batch of pellets the method includes, determining the air flowrate and fuel flowrate parameters according to the levels of combustion of the pellets in a defined pellet-fired burner, creating at least one curve, identifying the optimal air and fuel parameters, recording these optimal parameters, the type of burner, the batch number, possibly extrapolating to other pellet-fired burners, recording these extrapolated optimal parameters, labelling each bag with information relating to these optimal parameters, when using a bag of pellets in a domestic pellet-fired burner, reading the information using reading means, and regulating the domestic burner by acting on regulating means that regulate the supply of air and fuel to the burner.

A method and apparatus for controlling a process in a system comprising pre-processing of a raw material, processing the pre-processed raw material and acquisition of the result of the processing of the pre-processed raw material, comprising the steps of: capturing input and output variables of the pre-processing; capturing output variables of the processing of the pre-processed raw material; creating a first, second and third process model for at least two different time scales, which describes the effects of adapting the pre-processing of raw material, the effects of adapting the processing of the pre-processed raw material, the effects of adapting the pre-processing of raw material and adapting the processing of pre-processed raw material on the output variables of the processing of pre-processed raw material; wherein the process in the system is controlled using the prediction of the process model which currently provides the best predictions for the process in the system.

A sampling and preparation system is positioned in a coal and biomass co-fired power station, which includes a sampling pipe connected with a boiler flue of the co-fired power station. The sampling pipe from the end close to the boiler flue to the other end away from the boiler flue includes a filtering device, a mass flow controller, a carbon dioxide trap and a pumping device. The sampling and preparation system also includes a carbon dioxide transfer device and a .sup.14C testing device. The carbon dioxide transfer device is applied to transferring the carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide trap to the .sup.14C testing device which is applied to measuring the .sup.14C in the carbon dioxide sample. The system may calculate the biomass blending ratio of the coal and biomass co-fired power station rapidly.

The efficiency of a solid fuel burning device can be increased and the emissions can be reduced with proper monitoring and guidance. At least one memory and processor can receive information related to operating conditions of a solid fuel burning device from at least one sensor and filter that information and determine a property related to usage of the solid fuel burning device based on fitting the filtered information to a set of reference conditions. The property can be compared to a lookup table comprising triggering events and when the property satisfies one of the triggering events appropriate guidance for operation of the solid fuel burning device can be retrieved and outputted so that alterations can be made to the operating conditions of the solid fuel burning device.

An online pulverized coal concentration regulator is mounted at a front end of a pulverized coal pipe, and a pulverized coal concentration detector is arranged in the pipe. The regulator includes a control system, and an output of the concentration detector is connected with a signal input end of the control system. The regulator includes a top plate, a regulating rod, and a powder baffle plate. A mounting hole for fixedly mounting the front end of the pipe and a through hole for the powder baffle plate to penetrate through are arranged in the top plate, and a connector is arranged between the regulating rod and the powder baffle plate. The regulator includes a guider slidably connected with the powder baffle plate and fixedly connected with the top plate, and a diversion plate arranged on the top plate and slidably connected with the powder baffle plate.

A wood stove monitoring and control device can include a mounting flange mountable to a chimney exhaust pipe of a wood stove. The device can include a ring removably mountable on top of the mounting flange, where the flange is suitably positioned vertically along the exhaust pipe so that the ring is positioned at least partially above an end of the exhaust pipe. The device includes an optical beam source disposed on the ring, and which generates and outputs an optical beam. The device includes an optical sensor positioned on the ring opposite the optical beam source to detect the optical beam output by the optical beam source as the optical beam passes through smoke exhausted by the wood stove through the exhaust pipe. The device can include a temperature probe disposed on the ring to measure a temperature of heat exhausted by the wood stove through the exhaust pipe.

Provided is a correlation deriving method including the steps of: generating coal ash by incinerating coal; generating sintered ash by heating the coal ash at a predetermined heating temperature within a range of a combustion temperature of a coal burning boiler; measuring hardness of the sintered ash; measuring an exhaust gas temperature exhibited when coal which is to have the hardness is burnt in the coal burning boiler; and deriving a correlation between the hardness and the exhaust gas temperature.