China’s first flare emissions test facility opens

The Callidus Luoyang Combustion Research and Development Center is the largest test facility of its kind in Asia. Its design and testing methodology was developed by Callidus in conjunction with the US Environmental Protection Agency, resulting in a significant improvement over industrial design requirements.

"Measuring flare emissions can be difficult and dangerous because flares lack an enclosed combustion chamber, often are elevated, and they come in many different designs and sizes," said Henry Liu, vice president and general manager of Honeywell UOP China. "Combusted gases can be emitted in any direction at any velocity, so we use a patent-pending hood-like structure and sampling rake with multiple sample ports to gather accurate readings from the flare."

Flare VOC emissions can be reduced by controlling combustion performance. The destruction and removal efficiency (DRE) of flare gas is measured as a percentage of total hydrocarbons removed or destroyed by the flare. This is one of the key factors to measuring the performance of flare VOC emissions because it represents how well the flare performs.

The test facility confirms that the DRE of Callidus flare tips exceeds 99.5%, resulting in a 75% reduction in VOC emissions and exceeding standard industrial design requirements of 98% of DRE.

As China enacts stricter environmental regulations, Callidus' capabilities in flare technology make it possible for its customers to comply with those regulations and better ensure sound environmental practices. Until this test centre was commissioned, testing of this kind was not performed in China.

Professor Xiu Guangli of East China University of Science and Technology, commented: "Currently, we are working on a research project sponsored by the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau about Shanghai's VOC emission standard and its testing and certification technology standard. As a global flare technology leader, Honeywell's Callidus technology, complete database, and profound experience in related areas definitely will contribute to the successful completion of our project. We encourage companies to think ahead and consider switching to more environmentally friendly solutions for the long run."

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/gas-processing/13102017/chinas-first-flare-emissions-test-facility-opens/