Assessment of Associated Gas Combustion Characteristics Using a Flat Flame Burner

摘要

Associated gas worth of tens of billions of dollars is flared annually during oil and gas production, which leads to resource waste and environmental issues. The primary objective of this work is to study the combustion characteristics of associated gas mixtures. The study uses a McKenna burner facility for stabilization of premixed, laminar flat flames with measured heat loss from the flames. Laminar flame speeds of the component gases (methane, ethane, propane, and butane) and three associated mixtures from the Bakken gas field in North Dakota at lean to mildly rich equivalence ratios (from ф=0.7 to ф=1.1) are investigated at local pressure over a range of reactant flow rates. Numerical simulations are also performed in Cantera using the USC-Mech II and Aramco Mech 1.3 mechanisms to predict the laminar flame speed of component and associated gas mixtures. Moreover, standoff distances of these associated gas mixtures are measured using a CH* chemiluminescence technique for the burner-stabilized flame and the data are compared with numerical results of simulations done in CHEMKIN-PRO using the USC-Mech II mechanism. Standoff distances are also calculated analytically and compared with experimental and simulation results. Finally, the ratio of heat loss to the burner and heat release to the flame are presented with a view to discussing the stability of burner-stabilized flames of these associated gas mixtures.