Burner Management has come a long way since its inception but at each stage the overall goal has been the same: to optimize the ratio of fuel to air and enhance safety. Today, the future of combustion control is a modular system that provides flexibility, integration, and remote access functionality.

Industrial fired heaters are known to be the oldest and most common industrial process devices. Many manufacturing processes (if not all of them) involve heat exchange in some way or another, and the use of fired heaters is a way to provide such energy exchange. 

When selecting a safety control system for a combustion application, it is essential to recognize that many trade-offs will need to be weighed before making a decision. In simple terms, the reliability will decrease when adding safety to any system.

The spectrum of applications found in the process industries means that burner designs must vary widely. Smaller burners are utilized in paint booths, ovens and furnaces while larger burners are specified for incinerators, thermal oil heaters and oxidizers.

Like many of the process industries, thermal processing is a critical necessity to the oil-and-gas industry. Applications range from simple line heaters being fed from a single well to safety instrumented systems at a large-scale refinery. Regardless of the application, the thermal process is measured based on how safe, environmentally friendly and efficient it is.

When the 2011 edition of the industrial ovens safety standard NFPA 86 was released, for the first time, safety programmable logic controllers (PLCs) were recognized as logic devices suitable for the safe operation of industrial heating equipment. The safety PLC could now perform the control logic, but it still could not directly control the combustion safeguard systems.

A provider of natural gas and natural gas liquids as well as crude oil storage, distribution, transmission and transportation services, Dallas-based EnLink Midstream has operations in the most prolific oil-and-gas region in the United States.

Being cognizant of safety can prevent injury and loss of life. In the larger scale of a business, it can prevent expensive repercussions while at the same time improve efficiency and production. 

Nationwide Boiler Inc., Fremont, Calif., acquired Pacific Combustion Engineering/Ponder Burner Co., a manufacturer of burner management and combustion control systems as well as custom control panels. Based in Washougal, Wash., PCE/PBE will continue to operate under its current name as a division of Nationwide Boiler Inc.

The days of using a rag and stick to light a burner have thankfully faded into the not-so-distant past. Technology has evolved and continues to do so at a rapid rate.