com Reprinted from July2007 HYDROCARBONENGINEERING
F lares are devices used to safely and efciently dispose of operational or emergency relief of ammable gases and liquids 1 . They are somewhat unique compared to other common combustion devices such as burners because of the very wide range of owrates and compositions that they often handle. This makes the design very challenging as ares often have to be capable of safely handling gas ows from as low as several hundred pounds per hour or less (purge rate) up to as much as a million or more pounds per hour. This means a are must have a very wide turndown range, where turndown is the ratio of the highest to lowest owrates of waste streams that can be safely handled. There have traditionally been six important performance parameters of interest for most ares 2 . The rst is the hydraulic capacity, which is the maximum gas owrate that can ow through the are at a given pressure for a given gas molecular weight and gas temperature. While the gases are safely combusted, smoke is often generated. Since this is the maximum design ow that could occur during an emergency, the primary focus is safely disposing of the gases and not on how much smoke is generated. The second parameter is the smokeless capacity. This is the maximum ow of waste gases that can be sent to the are without producing signicant levels of smoke. It is usually lower than the hydraulic capacity. A are is typically designed so that the smokeless capacity is at least as much as the maximum waste gas owrate expected during normal daily operation. The third performance parameter of interest is the thermal radiation generated by the are as a function of the waste gas owrate and composition 3 . The radiation levels at specic points of interest are typically limited to avoid injuring personnel and damaging equipment. The height of the are is then determined by how tall the stack needs to be so that the radiation levels at specied locations are maintained at or below desired levels. The fourth parameter of interest in ares is noise. Excessive noise can injure personnel, damage equipment, and property both inside and outside of the plant. The fth parameter is utility consumption rates at various waste owrates, typically measured in terms of steam to hydrocarbon mass ratio for steam assisted ares and horsepower required per unit hydrocarbon mass owrate for air assisted ares. This parameter reects how efcient a are design is in utilising the momentum of the steam in a steam assisted are, or the air supplied by the blower in an air assisted are. The sixth parameter is the minimum purge gas owrate required. The purge gas is supplied for two purposes: to prevent air ingression into the stack, which New steam assisted flare technology J. Hong, C. Baukal, M. Bastianen, J. Bellovich and K. Leary, John Zink Company, LLC, USA, present innovative steam assisted flare technology. Reprinted from HYDROCARBONENGINEERING July2007 www.hydrocarbonengineering.com could produce an explosive mixture leading to severe stack damage; and to prevent internal burning in the fuel plenum that could lead to are tip failure. The purge rate required to prevent stack damage is typically lower than the purge rate required to prevent internal burning. In order to prevent internal burning in a steam assisted are, centre steam is often used. An additional (seventh) parameter that has received considerable attention recently is pollutant emissions from ares 4 . There are various types of ares, depending on the specic application. If the waste gases are at a relatively low pressure, then some type of assist media is often used to entrain air into the ame to increase the smokeless waste gas owrate. The two most common assist media are steam and air. In the case of air assisted ares, one or more blowers supply a portion of the combustion air to the are. Air assisted ares are commonly used where steam is limited, such as in locations where water is limited (e.g. the desert). For steam assisted ares, steam is used to entrain a portion of the combustion air to the are. For either type of assist medium, most of the combustion air comes from the ambient air surrounding the are ame. Conventional steam assisted flares By far the most popular type of assisted are is steam assisted, which is the type discussed here. Figure 1 shows the effectiveness of steam assist for increasing the smokeless capacity of a are. There are many types of steam assisted ares that are available. One common high efciency design uses a bundle of tubes inside the are stack where the waste gas ows outside the tubes and a steam/air mixture ows inside the tubes. A typical design is shown in Figure 2. There is no premixing inside the are, so the combustion air and ammable waste products mix at the exit of the are tip. The tip of a typical steam are is shown in Figure 3. There are usually three different steam supply lines for this type of are: to the tubes inside the are; to the upper rim at the top of the are tip; and inside the waste gas plenum of the are tip (often referred to as centre steam). For optimum performance, each of these lines is independently controlled. The steam supply to the tubes inside the tip is used to entrain combustion air into the interior of the ame to increase the smokeless capacity. The steam supply to the upper rim of the tip minimises wind effects and helps entrain combustion air into the are ame. The centre steam supply is primarily to prevent internal burning that can occur during very low waste gas owrates where air can migrate inside the are gas plenum due to buoyancy, cross wind and capping. One potential limitation of conventional steam assisted ares is related to what can happen if the steam supplies are not in the correct proportions. If the steam are is not operated properly, a detrimental phenomenon called capping can occur, if too much steam is supplied to the upper steam ring and too little is supplied to the lower steam ring. This is shown schematically in Figure 4. The upper steam ows upward and inward toward the centre. The collision above the are tip creates a zone with a relatively high pressure, acting as a uidic dome or a cap over the are tip that can force some of the ame down inside the waste gas plenum, causing internal burning. Depending on the severity, ames can actually be pushed all the way back through the steam air tubes, resulting in Figure 2. Schematic of an internal tube type steam assisted flare. Figure 3. An internal tube type steam assisted flare. Figure 1. Effectiveness of steam in smoke suppression: (left) without steam, (right) with steam. www.hydrocarbonengineering.com Reprinted from July2007 HYDROCARBONENGINEERING ame engulfment of the are tip. Prolonged capping can damage the are due to the internal burning and ame engulfment. Figure 5 shows a photo of a capped are. Centre steam is often used to prevent internal burning at purge rate ows by increasing the volume owrate and therefore the velocity through the tip to prevent air inltration. This is less expensive than simply increasing the purge owrate of a purchased gas such as natural gas. However, the centre steam ow still represents a signicant cost. Using centre steam in freezing weather conditions can sometimes cause the steam to condense and freeze, plugging up the are tip. In cold weather conditions, it is common to turn off the centre steam and increase the purge gas owrate, which typically increases the operating costs of the are. New steam assisted flare development A development project was initiated to address some of the limitations of conventional steam assisted ares. An important objective of designing a new steam assisted are was to reduce the amount of steam required to achieve smokeless combustion of a given waste owrate. This can be quantied as the ratio of the mass of steam needed per unit mass of are gas (S/HC ratio), at a are gas owrate where smoke is just beginning to be produced (sometimes referred to as the incipient smoking rate). Reducing steam consumption directly reduces utility costs. If the plant is steam limited, reducing the steam ow to the are system can also free up steam for other uses in the plant. An extensive development programme, utilising computational uid dynamic (CFD) modelling 5 , cold ow modelling and large scale combustion testing 6 , led to a new are design called the Steamizer XP (patent pending). A drawing of one version of the XP is shown in Figure 6. The XP consists of multiple modules connected to a common waste gas supply header. An important innovation with this design is that the steam/air tubes are straight, instead of having a bend as in the conventional steam assisted are design. This dramatically reduces the ow frictional losses. The increased ow efciency optimises air entrainment for a given steam owrate. Extensive computer modelling was done to investigate various aspects of the new are design. CFD, including the effects of ame radiation, was used to study the heat load effects caused by high or low waste gas ows during high and low winds. Extensive thermal stress modelling was also done to study the effects of ame radiation and very high wind loading on the stresses created in the are tip. A fatigue assessment was included based on the ASME VIII Section II code. The stress analyses showed that the design is very robust under the conditions modelled. Another important design feature of the XP design is the shape of the nozzle outlet, whose purposes are to efciently mix the air with the are gas and to minimise/ prevent internal burning. A proprietary geometry and ame stabiliser conguration was developed with the help of CFD modelling 5 . Testing of various module congurations was conducted in a full scale air entrainment test rig with accurate measurement of both steam and entrained air ows (Figure 7). Bent tubes as used in the conventional design were compared against straight tubes in the XP design. Extensive combustion testing was also performed in John Zinks state of the art are test facility 6 . The smokeless capacity, steam consumption rate, thermal radiation output and other characteristics were experimentally determined. Moderated shear mixing The new XP are design has some important benets compared to conventional steam assisted are designs. The design of the outlet nozzle is critical to the performance of the XP are. One of the reasons for the special shape is to enhance the mixing of the air and the waste gas. Figure 8 Figure 4. Schematic of capping (green represents fuel gas, blue represents steam, and red represents flame). Figure 5. A capped steam assisted flare. Reprinted from HYDROCARBONENGINEERING July2007 www.hydrocarbonengineering.com shows some simple schematic diagrams of different types of mixing. The left diagram shows that mixing is low and shear force is minimal when there are two parallel uid streams of approximately the same velocities. The middle diagram shows that mixing is greatly increased where one stream is perpendicular to the other. In that case, the shear between the two streams is very high, which enhances mixing. The right diagram shows moderated mixing where there is some shear between the uids, but not as much as when they are perpendicular. The XP are uses moderated shear mixing to improve mixing compared to the conventional steam assisted are design. The converging nozzle causes the waste stream to intersect the steam/air stream at a slight angle. Extensive modelling and testing have shown that the angle is critical, otherwise capping can occur, which is why the mixing is termed moderated. Furthermore, the optimal moderated design minimises pressure losses for the given waste gas ows. The improved mixing of the air and waste gas increases the smokeless capacity for a given set of conditions compared to the conventional design. Alternatively, a are requiring less steam could be used for a given smokeless capacity, compared to the conventional design. The new nozzle design with moderated shear mixing eliminates the centre steam and upper steam required on the conventional design. This dramatically reduces the steam requirements and capping caused by excessive upper steam ow. Secondary air entrainment Another important design feature is dividing the outlet area into multiple nozzles to improve mixing between the secondary air and the are gas stream around and along the ame. In the conventional design, the are gases in the centre of the are primarily mix only with the air that has been entrained into and through the steam/air tubes. Since this is only a relatively small fraction of the total air needed to completely combust the waste gases, air from around the ame must be entrained to make up the balance of the requirement. Although the air from around the ame is termed secondary air and the air entrained into the steam/ air tube is termed primary air, the secondary air actually accounts for the majority of the air required to completely combust the waste gas. In the conventional design, secondary air cannot get to the interior of the ame. The multiple individual nozzles in the XP allow secondary air to go between the nozzles into the centre of the are before all the individual ames merge into a continuous ring of ame with a hollow centre. Secondary air is entrained into the hollow centre to further suppress smoke formation. The tubes in the XP design are optimally spaced to minimise the overall size of the tip, without adversely affecting the secondary air entrainment capability. If the tubes are too closely spaced, then air ow to the inner portion of the tip would be restricted, thus reducing the smokeless capacity of the are. Improving the secondary air entrainment around the are effectively either increases the smokeless capacity for a given steam owrate, or reduces the steam owrate for a given smokeless capacity, compared to the conventional steam assisted are design. Improved eductor efficiency Another important feature of the XP are is the reduced pressure losses or hydraulic resistance in the air/steam passage compared to the conventional design, which uses bent tubes. Extensive tests in this study showed that the more angled the steam/air tubes, the less efcient the steam is for entraining air and mixing it with the waste gases. The less smooth the turn (e.g., mitered vs. contoured elbows), the less the air entrainment for a given steam owrate. Also, the closer the bend is to the steam/ air tube inlet, the lower the air entrainment. The XP are eliminates the bends in the steam/air tubes which makes the steam much more efcient at entraining air and mixing entrained air with the waste gases. Again, this means increased smokeless capacity for a given tip design and steam owrate, or alternatively, less steam ow required for a given smokeless capacity. Figure 8. Examples of mixing: (left) low shear, (middle) high shear, (right) moderated shear. Figure 6. The XP flare (patent pending). Figure 7. Cold flow air entrainment testing. www.hydrocarbonengineering.com Reprinted from July2007 HYDROCARBONENGINEERING Conclusion The newly developed Steamizer XP are reduces or eliminates the potential limitations of conventional steam assisted ares. Extensive CFD modelling, cold ow testing and full scale combustion testing were used in the development programme. The XP utilises straight steam/air tubes, proprietary nozzles and multiple individual modules to produce moderated shear mixing, increased secondary air entrainment and improved eductor efciency. These features provide many benets, including signicantly reduced steam requirements (>30% reduction), two of the three steam supply lines eliminated, simplied controls, longer tip life, and reduced installation and operating costs. This innovative new technology will improve are operations while simultaneously reducing costs. References REED, R., Flaring and Disposal, Chapter 2 in Furnace Operations, Gulf Publishing, Houston, 1973. SCHWARTZ, R., WHITE, J. and BUSSMAN, W., Flares, Chapter 20 in the John Zink Combustion Handbook, edited by C. Baukal, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2001. HONG, J., WHITE, J. and BAUKAL, C., Accurately predict radiation from flare stacks, Hydrocarbon Processing, Vol. 85, No. 6, pp. 79 - 81, 2006. LEVY, R., RANDEL, L., HEALY, M. and WEAVER, D., Reducing Emissions from Plant Flares, Proceedings of the Air & Waste Management Assoc. Conf. & Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, June 2006, Paper #61. BAUKAL, C., GERSHTEIN, V. and LI, X. (eds.), Computational Fluid Dynamics in Industrial Combustion, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2001. HONG, J., BAUKAL, C., SCHWARTZ, R., and FLEIFIL, M., Industrial-Scale Flare Testing, Chemical Engineering Progress, Vol. 102, No. 5, pp. 47 - 54, 2006. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Figure 9. Air entrainment around XP modules.