CONTROL APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, RESIDUE REMOVAL METHOD, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

A control apparatus for an internal combustion engine configured to perform control to remove a combustible residue adhered to an exhaust path of the internal combustion engine includes one or more processors and one or more memories communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more processors are configured to: obtain information on an exhaust temperature at a predetermined position in the exhaust path during operation of the internal combustion engine; determine whether the exhaust temperature or a predetermined reference temperature obtained based on the exhaust temperature has exceeded a threshold; and, when the exhaust temperature or the reference temperature has exceeded the threshold, increase an amount of oxygen to be supplied to the exhaust path to forcibly combust the combustible residue.