Introduction to Pressure-Assisted Flaring – The New AMEL...
Transcript of Introduction to Pressure-Assisted Flaring – The New AMEL...
2/24/2016 Page 1Refinery Sector Rule - Flares
Introduction to Pressure-Assisted Flaring – The New AMEL Framework
Troy M BoleyVice PresidentSage Environmental Consulting, LPAtlanta (Kennesaw), GA
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Overview1. Flare Waiver’s - Historical Review
• Who
• Where
• When
• How Managed
2. EPA’s new Refinery “Framework” - AMEL3. Lingering Questions
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Some limited permitting, and file search history…Timing Circa 1994 Circa 1997 Circa 2006 Circa 2006 Circa
2012Circa 2012 Circa 2013
Huntsman (Port
Neches, TX)
Mobil Chemical (Beaumont, TX Polyethylene)
BP (Texas City, TX
RF)
Dow TX(UCAR and
Seadrift Pipeline)
Marathon (Garyville, LA RF)
Williams Olefins
(Giesmar, LA
Ethylene)
Dow (Freeport, TX)
Flare Description
"CallidusTechnology
steam-assisted
flare, operated in a ground flare configuration-15 burners"
Pressure-assisted flare
Air-assisted flare @ 119 ft/s
(LRGO burners) tested at JZ - Flares
5&6
5 pressure-assisted flares (4 stationary
and 1 portable) tested at JZ
LRGO flares
tested at JZ by PFTIR
"Low profile multi-head"
(1) Propane Dehydrogenation
Unit 1 PDH-1 ground flare and (2) Light
Hydrocarbons Plant LHC-9 ground flare
Some sites requested AMPs, Waivers, Equivalency Demonstrations …What rules apply during “normal operation”, and what applies during an “upset”?
Yes, there are more!
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Some regulatory relief? Only in California…
Some, but not all, pressure-assisted flare tip designs use the Coanda effect.
Yes, there are more!
San Joaquin Valley AQMD, CaliforniaRULE 4311 FLARES (Adopted June 20, 2002; Amended June 15, 2006; Amended June 18, 2009)
5.6 Open flares (air-assisted, steam-assisted, or non-assisted) in which the flare gas pressure is less than 5 psig shall be operated in such a manner that meets the provisions of 40 CFR 60.18. The requirements of this section shall not apply to Coanda effect flares.
This was USEPA SIP approved!
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Who may have a ground flare? How is it being operated? Waivers?Products1 Applicant Submittal Date Permit Issued? Gr Flare in
Permit? Gr Fl as normal?2
E Axiall Lake Charles (LA) (not submitted) No TBDE PE Odebrecht (WV) (not submitted) No TBDE PE Shell Monaca (PN) (not submitted) No TBDE PE D Westlake Calvert City (KN) 8/1/2012 Yes NoE Equistar Corpus 3/6/2013 Yes NoE Ineos Chocolate Bayou 8/1/2011 Yes NoE Equistar Channelview 9/29/2011 Yes NoE Equistar La Porte 9/27/2011 Yes NoE BASF La Porte 3/11/2011 Yes NoE PE D Formosa Point Comfort 12/10/2012 No Yes TBDE PE D Sasol Lake Charles 4/30/2013 No Yes YesE D Williams Geismar 12/12/2012 Yes Yes YesE PE D CP Chem Cedar Bayou 12/11/2011 Yes Yes No5
E PE D NGL CP Chem Sweeney 4/20/2012 Yes Yes E Yes8, PE No9
E PE D Dow Freeport 12/3/2012 Yes Yes No11
E Oxychem Ingleside 12/28/2012 No Yes TBDE PE XOM 5/22/2012 Yes Yes NoE BASF Port Arthur 3/4/2011 Yes Yes No13
NGL Enterprise Mont Belvieu 12/19/2011 Yes Yes YesNGL Occidental of Elk (CA) 10/21/2010 Yes Yes No16
NGL Chevron Bakersfield (CA) 11/7/2013 Yes Yes No18
PE D Hunstman Port Neches (no current project) Yes No19
R Shell Deer Park (no current project) Yes YesR Valero Corpus (no current project) Yes Yes
R Shell Norco Chemcial, M-Plant (no current project) Yes YesR Marathon Garyville (no current project) Yes Consent DecreeR BP Texas City (no current project) Yes No
List is informative, not complete!At least 18 “ground flares”
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Lot’s of complexity.
Little regulatory clarity. Limited consistency.States differ from Feds, and both need to ‘approve”.
Bottom line? Need some resolution!
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Maybe…..some clarity has arrived….40 CFR 63.670(r) Alternative means of emission limitationCompany may request approval for site-specific operating limits that shall apply specifically to a single selected flare. Site-specific operating limits include, but not limited to, alternative threshold values for the
• Flare tip velocity
• Combustion zone operating limits
• Dilution operating limits for flare with perimeter assist air.
Must demonstrate that the subject flare achieves 96.5% CE (or 98% DRE) using the site-specific operating limits based on a performance evaluation.
FINAL - Refinery Sector Rule, December 1, 2015
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AMEL Test PlanOperator shall prepare and submit for approval a site-specific test plan.The design and dimensions of the flare, flare type, and description of gas being flared, including
• Quantity of gas flared,
• Frequency of flaring events (if periodic),
• Expected net heating value of flare vent gas,
• Minimum total steam assist rate
The operating conditions
• vent gas compositions, (i.e.: the operating “scenarios”)
• vent gas flow rates and assist flow rates,
• during normal operations and the operating conditions for the test period
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PFTIR flare testing - dealt with through spatial and temporal averaging
PFTIR instrument with 12” collection telescope
Ø Trying to “cherry-pick” high efficiency regions would be misleading.Ø Testing on the “actual” flare? Or the flare tip “design”?Ø Composition! What scenario is being tested?
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AMEL Test Plan
The minimum number and length of test runs and range of operating values to be evaluated during the performance evaluation.
• A sufficient number of test runs shall be conducted to identify the point at which the combustion/destruction efficiency of the flare deteriorates.
Final Report to EPA administrator for review.
Acceptance by EPA requires Notice in the Federal Register, and public comment period.
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Lingering questions…• AMEL Framework is only “approved” for the petroleum refinery sector, and those refineries
that are subject to the MACT.• However, the only 2 approved AMELs today are for chemical plants.
• How to reconcile Startup Shutdown, Maintenance, and Malfunction events? Maybe.
• Must all AMEL requests involve flare “testing”? Maybe.
• Retro-Active AMELs? Should we do one, or not? Maybe.
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Troy BoleySage Environmental ConsultingKennesaw (Atlanta) [email protected] 678-492-7426Cell 770-883-7082
Questions?
March 2011 – Valero Corpus Christi – power outage, total flare engagement event.