Why do they burn gas constantly in oil refineries?
In: Engineering
I work for an Air Quality regulatory agency in an oil and gas state, so this is something that we deal with all the time. This practice is called flaring, and it is used primarily to reduce emissions of harmful gasses, especially methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Methane has a very high global warming potential, much higher than CO2. So, instead of venting the methane directly to the atmosphere, it is burned in a flare, and the products of the combustion reaction (CO, CO2, NOX) are then emitted. These products are considered less damaging to human health and the environment than uncombusted hydrocarbons, so flaring is preferred to venting. That said, there is a current regulatory push to reduce routine flaring and encourage the capture and usage of those vapors instead (see NSPS OOOOa, OOOOb, and OOOOc).
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