Here's on Cliff's Corner, we take questions from our Eyes On Shell meetings and ask our renowned chemist, Dr. Clifford Lau, to answer them for you! Below is our first question for 2023, from the January 11, 2023 Eyes On Shell meeting.
Q: The “Stadium” (large enclosed ground flare) was touted by Shell Monaca as this great device to flare from. Low profile, small flares. What in their process requires them to flare from these low tech “soup cans” so often?
A:
Their Stadium or Stove Top Flare is part of their Low Pressure Flare System burns off the gases from the Vents and Episodic Vents of their 1 and 2 Ethylene Polymerization Units, the Continuous Gases from 3rd Ethylene Polymerization Unit . The Ancillary Equip Connected to the Stove Top are Vents from the Hexanene Disengaging Drum, Gases from the Pyrolysis Fuel Oil Area , Ethylene Vapors from the Refrigeration Tank and the Vapors from the Railcar Loading Area., to name a few.
The High Pressure Flare System which includes the Soup Cans and the High Emergency Flare burns off Vapors from the Ethane Cracking Units and the Vapors from 1 and 2 and 3 Ethylene Polymerization Units . The Ancillary Equip Connected to the High Pressure Flaring System are vapors from the Railcar Loading Area, Vapors from the Ethylene Storage Area , Vapors from C3+ , Butane Storage Area and Vapors Bullets Storage Area.
The Amounts produced in each of these areas from time to time will determine how much flaring they have to do.