Colorado TEC-4 Project
Working with Noble Energy near Denver,
Colorado, Tornado was asked to solve an ongoing problem
involving fired tank vent burners. The unlined units they had
were being overheated and causing performance and safety
issues. They were also faced
with extremely low pressures (less than 1psig) and high site
elevations where the combustion process is uniquely
compromised.
Tornado engineers designed a
prototype enclosed burner to handle the low pressure and
elevation while successfully handling their flow conditions.
Using proprietary knowledge, we designed a unit with a very
high (virtually infinite) turndown with control of three
different combustion zones. Below Zone 1 shuts
down and allows pressure to build to a set point before
auto-activation.
Over 450 units have been successfully
installed for one client. Most important, our barrels are
refractory lined (ceramic fibre blanket) and do not jeopardize
the safety of personnel and facility. Nor do they become a
consumable.
Could the TEC-4 enclosed burners be a
solution in your area?
"FLARE STACKS" AN
ALTERNATIVE TO VENTING GASES
The new EUB Directive 60
on venting, flaring and incineration is forcing operators to
revisit their facilities and determine how they are going to
comply with new venting restrictions. If waste gases cannot be
conserved, producers will need to destroy the gas. Tornado
Technologies Inc., a company at the forefront of developing
combustion solutions for over 20 years, has recently developed a
highly efficient and low-cost system that is gaining approval of
major producers on both sides of the Canadian/US border.
One of the primary sources
of waste gas emissions is the venting of production tanks,
usually on single well batteries. As liquids are produced,
residual vapors break out and form a blanket of gas contained at
low pressure, generally with a thief hatch. This prevents oxygen
from entering the tank and forming an explosive mixture. If
liquid levels or temperatures increase, the vapors compress and
relieve to atmosphere on an intermittent basis. Operators run
the risk of non-compliance if this gas is sour and leads to
odor complaints, or if excessive BTEX puts them in violation.
History:
In the past, operators have installed condensing
or cooling devices to reduce BTEX emissions and slide under the
allowable one to one threshold. Unfortunately, this solution incurs a
cost and does not account for the possibility that thresholds may
drop again in the future, most likely to zero. Tornado’s new series
of thermal oxidizers are an ideal low-cost solution that allows
producers to be proactive and drop their BTEX emissions to zero.
There are essentially five alternatives to choose
from when conservation of waste gases is not an option:
1. Vent to atmosphere - where applicable
2. Flare – allowable only if no smoking or
odors occur
3. Air-assisted flare – requiring onsite power,
reduces smoking concerns
4. Thermal oxidizer (TOX) – if less than 5%
sour
5. Incinerator – if more than 5% sour (this
option requires process/temperature controls, recording, and a
reliable burner management system (BMS) interlocked to the plant).
Incinerators and TOX’s are superior to flares in
that combustion is contained within the unit and produces a much
higher destruction ratio, thereby destroying all the gas. They also
handle much heavier gases, which are typically problematic for
flares and produce trace smoking.
The main difference between thermal oxidizers and
full-blown incinerators is that the latter have full temperature or
process controls and are, therefore, much more expensive.
Choosing between units depends on both economic
factors (capital and long term operating costs) and safety concerns.
The installation zone of the equipment will determine whether it’s
explosion proof or general purpose transient vapor. The more
stringent classification requires a combustion air inlet arrestor.
In many cases TOX’s are proving themselves to be
the preferred combustion choice based on a cost-benefit analysis. A
good example of this is a recent project for a major producer in
Colorado involving the development of Tornado’s newest thermal
oxidizer – the TEC 4.
Tornado was approached by a company in January,
2007 to develop a unit that would address the stringent air quality
venting regulations recently imposed in the area. The company had
more than 100 sites where large volumes of gas were being vented
from production tanks, and no existing technology could solve their
capacity problems.
Tornado quickly developed a prototype solution,
and spent the next three months working with the client to ensure
the unit could handle every possible scenario. Now, rather than
release raw, harmful production gases directly to atmosphere,
Tornado’s TEC 4 converts them to carbon dioxide and water vapor. The
result is a reduction in greenhouse gas effect by approximately 95%.
The company immediately ordered 100 units.
"The Colorado contract was earned for several
reasons," said Les Weir, General Manager of Combustion Products for
Tornado, "most importantly that we developed and delivered a unique
solution in under three months where others have been trying for
over three years." The TEC 4 specifically delivers extremely high
turn-down and destruction ratios, operates on low pressures,
requires no on-site power, maintains a cool surface temperature
(which benefits safety and allows it to be painted neutral colors),
and has a significantly higher capacity than any competitive
product. And all at a cost effective price.
Tornado expects the TEC 4 will be recognized as a
major advancement, and is already consulting with several other
producers facing similar challenges. The Colorado project
exemplifies Tornado’s ability to develop and deliver cost-effective,
technologically superior combustion systems.
Operators in Alberta will need to review their
facilities and install or upgrade equipment to comply with the EUB
venting regulations. If conservation is not an option, Tornado can
provide a broad range of combustion related solutions to meet their
specific requirements
High-temperature combustion of contaminated gas and process
air
High-temperature combustion
with a Oilfield Equipment flare stacks are a suitable solution
for the treatment of all kind of contaminated gas. This also
applies to highly corrosive gas and process air that would not
burn its own. Standard applications are landfill gas,
biogas, sludge gas and industrial process gas. Low calorific
value gas is mixed with auxiliary gas (e.g. propane) before it
enters the flare unit. For the disposal of landfill gas from old
landfills and contaminated process air, our Oilfield Equipment
Lean Gas Flare is the ideal solution.
With the development of a special burner technology
Oilfield Equipment succeeded in setting new standards for
the high-temperature combustion of contaminated gas. Moreover,
Oilfield Equipment flare units excel by virtue of their
integrated waste heat recovery. The waste heat can be used to
heat facilities on site and/or buildings located nearby.
At a defined fuel gas residence time Oilfield Equipment
flare stacks burn contaminated gas at temperatures of 850 to
1,250°C.
Oil refineries here
will be operating under increased scrutiny after the region's
air pollution agency yesterday adopted one of the nation's
most stringent rules regulating refinery
emissions.
The new rule, passed by the Bay Area Air Quality Management
District, requires oil refineries to systematically monitor
and
report the release of pollutants from "flares" -- safety
devices used to burn excess gas emitted from factories.
The
agency hopes to use the information to reduce such pollution,
the Associated Press reported.
The oil industry supports the rule because it provides
standard for oil companies to measure emissions and to
adopt monitoring equipment
.
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