Chairman Tom
Santa Leads R&D
Expansion
1 0 | 2 0 1 7 N O R A A N N U A L R E P O R T Tom Santa, Santa Energy, Bridgeport,
CT, has been the Chairman of the
National Oilheat Research Alliance
(NORA) since the start 2017 and is a
strong advocate of oilheating
research.
When Santa took over as Chairman,
NORA’s Research Laboratory in Plainview,
NY was still in its infancy.
With very little equipment in place,
and with the well regarded Dr. Tom
Butcher at the helm, Santa focused
on ensuring the industry developed
new technologies and a better understanding
of the industries’ problems
and potential solutions. An active,
scientifically sound and well respected
lab was vital to achieve this.
In addition to Dr. Butcher, a strong
team needed to be put in place,
preferably young talent. Dr. Butcher
was encouraged to develop and work
with recent graduates and promising
students from nearby Stony Brook
University.
Two students stood out and, after
internships under Dr. Butcher, they
were added to the NORA staff.
The first is Neehad Islam, research
engineer. Islam joined the lab as
an intern while he was completing
his graduate degree in Mechanical
Engineering at Stony Brook University,
with inclusion of specialization in the
thermal sciences.
Working at the lab presented an
excellent opportunity for Islam to
continue his education under the
leadership of Dr. Butcher while
contributing to the knowledge in the
industry.
Islam’s projects at NORA have
included tankless coil boilers, effects
of biodiesel on pump operation, study
of hybrid boiler-heat pump control
systems and combustion tests on
various blends of renewable fuel.
The research on tankless coil boilers
evaluated performance parameters
and how their efficiency can be
improved to allow them to better
compete in the market.
The industry’s push for biodiesel
as an alternative, cleaner fuel has led
to investigating the performance of
fuel pumps already installed in the
field. Advanced flame sensor testing
was conducted to evaluate the quality
of fuel cut-off in these pumps. They
were then dissected for wear-andtear
analysis. Following the investigation,
pump performance, combustion
performance and emissions
data on various biodiesel blends
was compiled. This data may lead to
transitioning into higher biodiesel
blends in heating fuel.
Ryan Kerr is the second research
engineer selected by Dr. Butcher.
Kerr began working at NORA in the
summer of 2017 as an intern.
After graduating from Stony Brook
University with a bachelor’s degree
in Chemical & Molecular Engineering,
Kerr was hired at the NORA Lab in
the summer of 2018 as a full-time
employee.
Kerr’s focus is on fuel quality. He
tests fuels collected from installations
in the field that have shown
evidence of fuel problems. This can
help identify anomalies such as the
presence of water or heavy degradation
of the fuel.
Kerr is currently investigating if the
presence of copper is an issue for
oil heating systems, as copper can
accelerate the oxidative degradation
of certain fuels. NORA needs to assess
whether, and to what degree, copper
actually affects the operation of a
system in the field.
Kerr is also helping NORA to expand
its study of liquid biofuels, which
could decrease oilheat’s greenhouse
gas emissions without much change
in infrastructure. Much of the focus
is on studying heating oil/biodiesel
blends and biodiesel alone. Additionally,
NORA is investigating other, less
common biofuels including Ethyl
Levulinate and Renewable Diesel.
Santa is proud of the team that is
now assembled at the NORA laboratory
and believes they will help the
industry to move forward. He notes
that the research conducted by
NORA and Brookhaven has led to the