In petrochemical facilities and refineries flares are important for safety. These burn the excess hydrocarbon gases in a safe manner as these can’t be recycled or recovered. These excess hydrocarbon gases are burnt in the flare systems in a manner that is environmentally-sound. This is an alternative to releasing this vapor directly into our atmosphere.
When flaring occurs this excess gas is combined with air and or steam and burnt off in the flare system which produces carbon dioxide and water vapor. This process is similar to the burning of LPG or liquefied petroleum gases. Some of us use these as fuel for home cooking.
Flair use is minimized as much as possible, but it can occur during a shut down or a start-up of any one of our facilities during the maintenance period or during unplanned operational interruptions such as a power outage. Continue reading
