Liquid jet gas Compressors for Flare Recovery
Flare gases are a combination of raw natural gas, vapours generated from crude oil tanks and other gas generated during oil & gas production and refining. Traditionally these gases were typically burnt in flare stacks.
But in the past decade Oil & gas producers and Refiners have begin to realise the disadvantages of burning flare gas. The disadvantages being:
• Loss of fuel rich gas
It is estimated that 140 bcm (billion cubic meters) of gas is flared annually. In an ideal scenario if this is recovered it can be used to generate almost 8 GW Electric power enough to power multiple cities throughout the year
• Air, Heat and Light pollution
It is estimated that flaring has resulted in Green house gas (GHG) emissions equivalent to 500 Mt of CO2 annually. To put into perspective it will take 20000 Trees to absorb the generated emissions
Considering that many countries have set a goal to become a Net-Zero Carbon Emitter in the 2nd half of the 21st Century, multiple regulators bodies are coming up with regulations discouraging flaring.
But recovery of Flare gases is not an easy task and fraught with below challenges
• Availability at low Pressure
Generated flare gases are typically at atmospheric pressures and need to be compressed in order to reuse them in the plant’s fuel gas network
• Sour Service
Flared gas tends to have high concentrations of H2S. H2S possess a risk to the plant infrastructure and hence needs to be separated or neutralized during recovery
Liquid jet gas Compressors operate on the basis of jet Venturi principle and utilize energy in pumped water for their operation.
During operation the Liquid jet gas Compressor displays a special ability to create vacuum at its inlet and at the same time creating a compressive effect between its inlet and outlet.
This enables the Liquid jet gas Compressor to utilize the vacuum to suck flare gases from the flare gas header and then compress it to the required pressures. The water + flare gas mixture is then separated in the gas-liquid separator and the compressed flare gas can be reinjected into the fuel gas grid after appropriate treatment.
Liquid jet Gas Compressors are able to deliver very high compression ratios and compress the flare gas to very high pressures. This makes it possible to directly inject the recovered flare gas into the fuel gas grid without any additional compression by a mechanical compressor.
Liquid jet gas Compressors are suited for Flare Gas Recovery due to their inherent characteristics
• The flare gas generation in Each Oil & Gas facility varies drastically. Liquid jet gas Compressors can be easily customized and hence are designed as per each facility.
• Can be manufactured in materials compatible with the sour service requirements.
• Liquid jet gas Compressors do not contain any moving parts and have large internal passage areas, hence are not vulnerable to liquid entry or clogging by solid particles.
• As they have no moving parts, maintenance requirements are very less. Also it reduces largely the risk of abrupt breakdowns, helps in maintaining the regular production schedule
• Water is available at high pressures in all Oil & Gas Facilities and hence no additional infrastructure is typically required.