Gas flare
Flaring the combustion exhaust gases, combustible, mainly gaseous waste, at the outlet end of a chimney-like tube, which carries the so-called torch head, a burner having an ignition device at the upper end. It is found primarily in the production of crude oil in refineries and chemical plants.
The flaring is used where a different use for the gas burnt off in the prior art and in accordance with market demand does not appear reasonable or financially unattractive. For example, are flared substances that are not continuously occur in industrial plants in fixed amount or in only small quantities. Because of the rising energy prices you will seek to obtain the use of such substances to produce usable energy (for example, process steam, electricity, or electricity and heat in combined heat and power ). Due to lack of marketability incurred in oil production associated gases such as natural gas are flared in part, if the cost of treatment and transport exceeds the expected proceeds.
Furthermore, flare systems also serve as security systems for fast relaxation of chemical plants with malfunctions to let go, for example, hydrocarbons or other toxic substances not unburned into the atmosphere.
In biogas plants flaring is used as an alternative gas consumers in case of failure of a cogeneration plant.
Environmental impact
The free flaring unused gases in the pipeline transportation of crude oil is one of the causes of global warming. The work-up and use of the gases will be omitted for economic reasons alone. Russia in particular and Nigeria through the free flaring at the list of polluters, as has been determined by measuring the gas producer and by evaluating the size and intensity of the flames. In Nigeria, 43 percent of Nigeria's promotion were flared despite a ban by the Federal High Court of Nigeria ( 2005) in 2006 still. Since 2008, this is also prohibited by law, but continues to function.
An unburned gas release by directly blowing is still clearly polluting than the flaring of unused gases. For example, methane is burned by flaring, in the ideal case to carbon dioxide and water vapor. Although formed during the combustion CO2 is a known greenhouse gas, but the greenhouse effect of CH4 ( methane) is 25 times stronger. In practice, however, arise from the burning of associated gas by incomplete combustion in addition to CO2 and water vapor, among other things, large quantities of soot. This is a known carcinogen and has a significant impact on global ice melt.
An additional environmental hazard by flaring occurs when the burned gases, for example, contain chlorine components. Therefore, in poor or unsafe burning gas mixtures is a complete combustion only by a thermal oxidiser to achieve, in which the exhaust gas temperature ( for example, a natural gas flame as a prop ) is maintained at a high level by supplying a safe burning gas to the complete combustion of the contained hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide sure of.
Ecologically superior to the blowing or flaring with open fire, however, in any case, the complete chemical or energy recovery, for example, by complete combustion with a controlled excess air in a spark ignition engine with catalytic converter.