Arthur Maclean Sterling
	Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering Ph.D., University of Washington, 1969 Office: 274 ChE Building Telephone: 225.578.3057 E-mail: sterling@lsu.edu

Dr. Sterling's general research interests are directed toward experimental and theoretical investigations of combustion phenomena. His current focus is on understanding better the fundamental processes involved in rotary kiln incineration. To this end, experiments are being carried out on both full-scale incinerators at local chemical plants and a newly-installed pilotscale incinerator at LSU.

The two million BTU/hr pilot-scale incinerator consists of two natural-gas-fired combustion chambers (a rotary kiln and a secondary combustion chamber), a waste heat boiler, and associated air pollution control equipment (bag house and scrubber). The facility is about 1/10 the size of an industrial unit.

Instruments allow the collection of continuous temperature, flow, and gas composition measurements from numerous locations throughout the system. An on-line mass spectrometer provides extended analytical capability. The facility is currently being modified to allow laser diagnostic capability for non-invasive flow and composition measurements. Analogous experiments at the pilot scale and at the full scale are also providing scaling laws that will allow information obtained on the pilot unit to be generalized.

The full-scale and pilot-scale experiments, together with evolving computer simulations, are providing new insights into ways that incineration systems and their associated air pollution equipment can be improved to operate more efficiently and more economically.

Recent Publications

• T.W. Lester, V.A. Cundy, A.M. Sterling, A.N. Montestruc, A. Jakway, C. Lu, C.B. Leger, D.W. Pershing, J.S. Lighty, G.D. Silcox and W.D. Owens, "Rotary Kiln Incineration: Comparison and Scaling of Field-Scale and Pilot-Scale Contaminant Evolution Rates from Sorbent Beds," Environmental Science and Technology, 25, 1142-1152 (1991). 
• C. Cook, V.A. Cundy, A.M. Sterling, C. Lu, A.N. Montestruc, C.B. Leger, and A.L. Jakway, "Estimating Dichloromethane Evolution Rates from a Sorbent Bed in a Field-Scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator," Combustion Science and Technology, 85, 217-241 (1992). 
• C.B. Leger, V.A. Cundy and A.M. Sterling, "A Three-Dimensional Numerical Model of a Field-Scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator," Environmental Science and Technology, 27, 677-690 (1993). 
• C.B. Leger, C.A. Cook, V.A. Sterling, X.X. Deng and J.S. Lighty, "Bed Mixing and Heat Transfer in a Batch Loaded Rotary Kiln," Environmental Progress, 12, 101-109 (1993). 
• C.B. Leger, V.A. Cundy, A.M. Sterling, A.N. Montestruc, A.L. Jakway and W.D. Owens, "Field-Scale Rotary Kiln Incineration of Batch Loaded Toluene/Sorbent: I. Data Analysis and Bed Motion Considerations," Journal of Hazardous Materials, 34, 1-29 (1993). 
• C.B. Leger, V.A. Cundy, A.M. Sterling, C.A. Cook, A.N. Montestruc, A.L. Jakway and W.D. Owens, "Field-Scale Rotary Kiln Incineration of Batch Loaded Toluene/Sorbent: II. Mass Balances, Evolution Rates, and Bed Motion Comparisons," Journal of Hazardous Materials, 34, 31-50 (1993). 
• Burch, T.E., Chen, W.Y., Lester, T.W., and Sterling, A.M., "Interaction of Fuel Nitrogen with Nitric Oxide During Reburning with Coal", Combustion and Flame, 98(4), 391-401 (1994) 
• Jakway, A.L., Sterling, A.M., Cundy, V.A., Cook, C.A., and Montestruc, A.N., "Insitu Velocity Measurements from an Industrial Rotary Kiln Incinerator", Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, 45, 877-885, (1995). 
• Jakway, A.L., Sterling, A.M., Cundy, V.A., and Cook, C.A., "Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling of a Field-Scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator", The Journal of Environmental Science and Technology, (in press).

FUGITIVE EMISSIONS