Analysis of the efficiency of air and steam-assisted flares on offshore platform

Gas Flaring is nowadays uniquely recognized as a major environmental threat. In addition to that, it has been estimated that flaring operations are one potential under-reported or non-reported pollutants source. Studying a flaring process, characterizing its emissions, and evaluating key indicators, such as the destruction & removal efficiency (DRE) and/or the combustion efficiency (CE), may be extremely difficult primarily due to (1) Type of Industrial Plant & Composition of the Stream to be flared, (2) Operation Mode, (3) Flare Design, (4) Meteorological Conditions, and (5) Possible Flare Malfunctioning. As a consequence of that, being able to correctly model a flaring process with the help of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) could represent a valid alternative to expensive flare tests, since grab samplings or remote sensing are costly operations. Moreover, it is impossible to test during startup, shutdown, and maintenance periods. This study makes use of one of the most popular CDF software in order to investigate the interaction between crosswind and fuel jet velocity and to determine the optimal amount of assist air/steam to be provided to maximize the combustion efficiency for a given flaring apparatus.