Get a Flair for Flares This important safety system is more complicated than often assumed

摘要

A FLARE plays a crucial safety role at many process plants.Indeed,it often provides the last line of defense against a serious incident by burning off flammable gases released.No practical alternatives to a flare(or flare stack as it's often called)exist.A flare primarily serves to handle gases released by pressure relief valves and other devices during emergency or equipment over-pressurization events.For instance,interruption of the usual operation of a plant,such as by failure of key equipment or a power outage,may lead to potentially dangerous accumulation of gases;sending these to a flare and igniting them via a pilot light ensures their safe combustion,thus preventing their escape into the atmosphere.A flare also often combusts gases for relatively short periods during startups and shutdowns,e.g.,to allow proper sequencing of events(such as reintroducing fluids during startups and emptying process equipment and lines during shutdowns).Many plants resort to flaring to deal with'gases generated during transients in regular operations;such avoidable gas flaring should be kept to the absolute minimum possible.