What is gas flaring? Many people often ask this question during oil and gas production. The best way to start answering the question is by first understanding gas flare. Flare gas is a byproduct of various industrial processes, such as oil and gas recovery, wastewater treatment, gas production, and petrochemical processes.
Gas flaring involves the combustion of gases in the processes mentioned above. They are collected in a stack and kept aside for combustion. The stack has a mechanism that allows oxygen to combine with the flaring gases to improve the combustion rate. This step is essential as some of the gases produced have a low combustion ability.
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Routine Flaring
Oil-producing companies and other stakeholders flare gases for various human health and general worksite safety reasons. Here is a breakdown of why routine flaring is essential.
Pressure Relief
Pressure relief refers to reducing the number of reactive gases in the vents. Flaring natural gas reduces the risk of explosions in age processing sites.
Waste Product Removal
Some chemical production processes produce highly hazardous materials in gas form. Such substances present air pollution risks, all the more reason for flaring.
To Eliminate Volatile Organic Compounds
Processes in gas extraction sometimes come with the production of volatile organic compounds. The only safe and cost-effective way of getting rid of such compounds is by flaring.
How to Reduce the Flare
Some regulations monitor flaring. In a region like North Dakota, where there is oil production, the government uses commissions to oversee flaring intensity. Rules to reduce flare vary from one region to another, but they exist in almost every region.
Other Alternatives?
Since gas flaring has harmful effects on the environment, you can opt for other alternatives. In summary, the other options revolve around using flare gas in different production processes. For instance, natural gas extracted during crude oil mining is usable in generating electricity. In any case, these gases must be used up to ensure safety.
Sapphire Strives to Reduce Air Pollution
While looking into “what is gas flaring,” we also looked into better ways of reducing air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions from flaring. At Sapphire Gas Solutions, our goal is to look for better ways to protect the environment by producing high-quality products.
Contact us to find out more about our activities in the energy industry.