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Seminar: “Smoldering Combustion in Wildfires,” Prof. Guillermo Rein - Imperial College, London Speaker: Guillermo Rein, Professor of Fire Science, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College, London. Title: Smoldering Combustion in Wildfires Abstract: Smouldering is the slow, low-temperature, flameless burning that represents the most persistent type of combustion phenomena and which leads to the largest and longest burning fires on Earth. Smouldering megafires in peat and coal deposits occur with some frequency during the dry season in, for example, North America, Siberia, the British Isles, the sub-Arctic and South-East Asia. These threaten to release ancient carbon stored in the soil (>10 000 year-old carbon). Once ignited, they are particularly difficult to extinguish despite extensive rains, weather changes, or fire-fighting attempts, and can persist for long periods of time (months, years or even centuries), spreading into the ground and over large areas. Recent figures at the global scale estimate that average annual greenhouse gas emissions from smouldering fires are equivalent to 15% of anthropogenic emissions. Dr. Rein’s research identified smouldering combustion as the driver of peat megafires. It is an emerging research topic related to climate change and pollution. His work in this area has yielded knowledge on heat and mass transfer in reactive porous media and emissions, and fosters innovative engineering solution to tackle this global wildfire challenge. Biography: Guillermo Rein is Professor of Fire Science at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of Imperial College and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Fire Technology. His research is centered on heat transfer, combustion and fire science. The purpose of his work is to reduce the worldwide burden of accidental fires and protect people, their property, and the environment. He was born in Madrid (Spain) and studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley (MSc 2003, PhD 2005), and before than at ICAI Universidad Pontificia Comillas (Ingeniero Industrial, 1999). Guillermo joined Imperial College in 2012 from a previous academic position at the School of Engineering of the University of Edinburgh (2006-2012). This Event is For: Campus
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