Flaring is a common safety technology for the disposal of flammable waste gases. The gases are sent to a stack and burn in an open flame. Flares are found at oil and gas production sites, petroleum refineries and chemical processing plants, landfills and sewage treatment plants, anaerobic digesters, steel mills and smelters. Gases may be flared as a result of an emergency shutdown or for routine disposal of by-products of an industrial process. The performance of flares in the field is difficult to quantify as wind speed and direction, and the composition and flow rate of flare gas all vary with time. This makes it difficult to quantify the potential environmental impact of flaring and points to the need for controlled tests of flares.

CanmetENERGY completed commissioning of the Flare Test Facility (FTF) in 2000. This unique facility can closely represent a wide range of industrial flares, including those of off-shore oil rigs and refinery and chemical plant flares. The operating conditions, fuel flow rate and composition, crosswind speed and steam-assist rate are controlled with accurate measurement of combustion products. Combustion efficiency, destruction efficiency and speciation of emissions are determined. The FTF has been used to characterize solution gas flares, to test flare tip designs, and to develop new designs.

The Flare Test Facility is the host of the International Flare Consortium (IFC), which was formed to address the gaps in science with respect to emissions from flares and to establish best practices. The goals of the IFC are to provide emission factors for production and refinery flares, including the effect of steam rate, composition and flow rate of fuel, and wind speed; to establish optimal operating conditions that maximize combustion efficiency and minimize pollutant emissions; and to set the operating envelope outside of which flares should not be operated.

CanmetENERGY's collaborative program on flare testing and development addresses the concerns of flare suppliers, industrial flare operators, and federal and provincial regulatory bodies concerning the most cost effective, safe, and environmentally responsible disposal of waste gases. Quantifying the performance of flares under various operating conditions identifies environmental concerns and leads to important R&D on reducing harmful emissions.

For more information on flaring, the Flare Test Facility, or the International Flaring Consortium, please visit our publications section or contact us.