Gas Flaring Reduction: Perspective Environmental and Economical

Authors(1) :-Eman A. Emam

Flaring expresses the process of safe disposal of associated or waste gas by burning in many processes. The World Bank estimates that the amount of flared gas annually equivalent to the annual gas consumption of Germany and France, twice the gas consumption of Africa annually, 75 % of the Russian gas export, or sufficient to provide the entire world with gas for 20 days. Other pollutants during gas flaring are emitted to the atmosphere such as CO2, CO and NOx. Also, flaring generates noise, heat and provided large areas uninhabitable. According to environmental and economical considerations flaring reduction becomes a crucial issue. The reduction can be occur by minimize or recover the wasted energy and reduce the greenhouse gases emissions. This paper is a review of the flaring reduction by reporting the different methods of flare gas recovery systems used in the industry to improve environmental performance by reducing emissions and save the energy.

Authors and Affiliations

Eman A. Emam
Department of Chemical Eng. and Pet. refinery, Suez University, Suez, Egypt

Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Flare Gas Recovery Systems, Electricity Generation, Gas to Liquid Conversion, Gas Collection And Compression

  1. R. D. Andersen, D. V. Assembayev, R. Bilalov, D. Duissenov and D. Shutemov, Efforts to reduce flaring and venting of natural gas world-wide, TPG 4140 – Natural Gas, Trondheim Nov. 2012.
  2. A. O. Abdulrahman, D. Huisingh and W. Hafkamp, Sustainability improvements in Egypt's oil & gas industry by implementation of flare gas recovery, Journal of Cleaner Production, 98, 116-122, 2015.
  3. R. S. Rao, KVSG M. Krishna and A. Subrahmanyam, Challenges in oil and gas industry for major fire and gas leaks-risk reduction methods, International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology, 3(16), 23-26, 2014.
  4. B. Gervet, March 2007, Gas flaring emission contributes to global warming. Renewable Energy Research Group, Division of Architecture and Infrastructure, Luleå University of Technology, SE-97187 Luleå, Sweden. Available at:  http://www.ltu.se/cms_fs/1.5035!/gas%20flaring%20report%20-%20final.pdf
  5. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, Gas flare, Oct. 25, 2012. Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_flare
  6. World Bank Group, Initiative to reduce global gas flaring, Sep. 2014. Available at:          http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2014/09/22/initiative-to-reduce-global-gas-flaring
  7. M. J. Olin, A Sierra whitepaper, Flare gas mass flow metering innovations promise more economical choices, 2014. Available at:         http://www.controlglobal.com/assets/14WPpdf/140311-Sierra-FlareGas.pdf.
  8. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Flaring &venting, Retrieved Oct. 10, 2012, Available at:  http://www.capp.ca/environmentCommunity/airClimateChange/Pages/FlaringVenting.aspx
  9. M. R. Rahimpour, Z. Jamshidnejad, S. M. Jokar, G. Karimi, A. Ghorbani, and A. H. Mohammadi, A comparative study of three different methods for flare gas recovery of Asalooye gas refinery, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering 4 (2012) 17-28.
  10. S. O. Abdulhakeem, Gas flaring in Nigeria; impacts and remedies, SPE-170211-MS, Sep. 15-17, 2014.
  11. M. E. Sangsaraki, and E. Anajafi, Design criteria and simulation of flare gas recovery system, International Conference on Chemical, Food and Environment Engineering (ICCFEE'15), Dubai (UAE), Jan. 11-12, 2015.
  12. M. R. Johnson and A. R. Coderre, Opportunities for CO2 equivalent emissions reductions via flare and vent mitigation: A case study for Alberta, Canada, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 8, 121–131, 2012.
  13. M. Saidi, F. Siavashi, M. R. Rahimpour, Application of solid oxide fuel cell for flare gas recovery as a new approach; a case study for Asalouyeh gas processing plant, Iran, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 17, 13–25, 2014.
  14. F. Ghadyanlou and A. Vatani, Flare-gas recovery methods for olefin plants, Chemical Engineering, Essentials for the CPI Professional, 2015, chemengonline.com.
  15. M. R. Rahimpour and S. M. Jokar, Feasibility of flare gas reformation to practical energy in Farashband gas refinery: No gas flaring, Journal of Hazardous Materials 209-210, 204-217, 2012.
  16. A. Ezersky and H. Lips, Characterisation of refinery flare emissions: assumptions, assertions and AP-42, Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), 2003.
  17. A. Ezersky and B. Guy, Proposed regulation 12, Rule 11: Flare monitoring at petroleum refineries, 2003.
  18. Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR) and the World Bank, Guidelines on Flare and Vent Measurement, 700, 900-6 Avenue S.W. Calgary, Alberta, T2P 3K2 Canada, (Sep. 2008).
  19. J. Peterson, H. Cooper and C. Baukal, Minimize facility flaring, Hydrocarbon processing, 111-115, 2007.
  20. V. Deo, A. K. Gupta, N. Asija, A. Kumar and R. Rai, Flare reduction: need of hour, 31 Oct.-3 Nov., New Delhi, India, Paper ID : 20100584, Petrotech-2010.
  21. B. Duck, Reducing emissions in plant flaring operations, Hydrocarbon World, 6 (1), 42-45, 2011.
  22. World Bank, 2004. A voluntary standard for global gas flaring and venting reduction. Washington, DC. Available at: http://go.worldbank.org/V3LNYRPOR0.
  23. Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. (2013). Environmental and climate considerations in the Norwegian Petroleum Sector. Retrieved August 1, 2014. available at:http://www.npd.no/en/Publications/Facts/Facts-2013/Chapter-9/ 
  24. R. Seeley, (2014). North Dakota gives teeth to flaring reduction plan. Oil & Gas Journal. Accessed August 1, 2014. Available at: http://www.ogj.com/articles/2014/07/north-dakota-gives-teeth-toflaring-reduction-plan.html 
  25. CDM Rulebook. "Certified Emission Reductions". available at: http://www.cdmrulebook.org/304.
  26. D. Mourad, O. Ghazi, B. Noureddine, Recovery of flared gas through crude oil stabilization by a multi-staged separation with intermediate feeds: a case study. Korean J. Chem. Eng. 26 (6), 1706-1716, 2009.
  27. L. Dong, S. Wei, S. Tan and H. Zhang,  GTL or LNG: which is the best way to monetize stranded natural gas? Petroleum Science, 5 (4), 388–394, 2008.
  28. S. Wong, D. Keith, E. Wichert, B. Gunter and T. Mccann, Economics of acid gas reinjection: an innovative CO2 storage opportunity. In: Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies, Kyoto, Japan, pp. 1661–1664, 2003.
  29. California Oil Producers Electric Cooperative, 2008. Offgases project oil-field flare gas electricity systems. California Energy Commission Public Interest Energy Research Program, Available at: http://www.energy.ca.gov/2008publications/CEC-500-2008-084/CEC-500-2008-084.PDF.
  30. M. E. Sangsaraki, and E. Anajafi, Design criteria and simulation of flare gas recovery system,  International Conference on Chemical, Food and Environment Engineering (ICCFEE'15) Jan. 11-12, 2015 Dubai (UAE)
  31. N. Bjorndalen, S. Mustafiz, M. H. Rahman, and M. R.  Islam, No-flare design: converting waste to value addition. Energy Sources, 27, 371-380, 2005. 
  32. World Bank, 2005. Gas flaring reduction projects: framework for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Baseline Methodologies. World Bank. Report number: 6.
  33. A. Christiansen,  Climate policy and dynamic efficiency gains; a case study on Norwegian CO2-taxes and technological innovation in the petroleum sector. Clim. Policy, 1 (4), 499-515, 2001.
  34. Statiol awarded IOR prize. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from Statoil. Available at: http://www.statoil.com/en/NewsAndMedia/News/2012/Pages/28aug_ior.aspx
  35. I. Bawazir, M. Raja, and I. abdemohsen, Qatargas flare reduction program, IPTC-17273-MS, 2014.
  36. F. I. Ibitoye, Ending natural gas flaring in Nigeria’s oil fields,  Journal of Sustainable Development, 7 (3), 13-22, 2014.
  37. W. Al-Blaies, Saudi Aramco’s Flare Minimisation program. 7th gas Arabia Summit, Muscat, Oman, 11-14 Dec., 2011.
  38. S. O. Abdulhakeem and A. Chinevu, Gas flaring in Nigeria; impacts and remedies, SPE-170211-MS, 2014.
  39. L. Byers, H. M. Wessel, A. Kalelova, A. Korsyus, G. Tulegenova, A. Subkhankulova and A. Zhilkaidrova, A journey to gas flaring reduction at Tengizchevroil LLP (TCO), SPE-171186-MS, 2014.
  40. TCO. 2014. Poster - Operatonal excellence (OE) forum - Tengizchevroil (TCO) excellence in flaring reduction.
  41. O. Zadakbar, A. Vatani and K. Karimpour, Flare gas recovery in oil and gas refineries, Oil & Gas Science and Technology – Rev. IFP, 63 (6), 705-711, 2008.
  42. M. R. Johnson and A. R. Coderre, An analysis of flaring and venting activity in the Alberta upstream oil and gas industry. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 61 (2), 190–200, 2011.
  43. N. Tahouni, M. Gholami and M. H. Panjeshahi, Reducing energy consumption and GHG emission by integration of flare gas with fuel gas network in refinery, International Journal of Chemical, Nuclear, Materials and Metallurgical Eng., 8 (9), 900-904, 2014.
  44. P. Fisher and D. Brennan, Minimize flaring with flare gas recovery, Hydrocarbon Processing, 83-85, June 2002.
  45. B. Blackwell, T. Leagas, and G. Seefeldt, Practical flare gas recovery, Hydrocarbon Engineering, 2015 (Reprinted from January 2015).
  46. H. Saadwai, Ten years` experience with flare gas recovery systems in Abu Dhabi, SPE-166133-MS, 2013.
  47. M. E. Aly, G. Abdelalem, E. A. Emam and F. K. Gad, The zero continuous flaring technology, Transactions of the Egypt. Soc. of Chem. Eng. (TESCE), 36 (4), 2010.
  48. Iandoli, L., Kjelstrup, S., Energy analysis of a GTL process based on low temperature slurry FT reactor technology with a cobalt catalyst. Energy Fuels, 21, 2317-2324, 2007.
  49. D. A. C. Branco, A. S. Szklo and R. Schaeffer,  CO2 emissions abatement costs of reducing natural gas flaring in brazil by investing in offshore GTL plants producing premium diesel. Energy, 35, 158–167, 2010.
  50. D. A. Wood, C. Nwaoha and B. F. Towler, Gas-to-liquids (GTL): A review of an industry offering several routes for monetizing natural gas, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 9, 196-208, 2012.
  51. T. Takayuki and Y. Kenji, Important roles of Fischer-Tropsch synfuels in the global energy future. Energy Policy, 36, 2773-2784, 2008.
  52. Sh. Shahhosseini, S. Alinia, and M. Irani, CFD simulation of fixed bed reactor in Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of GTL technology, World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, 3, 12-24, 2009.
  53. M. E. Dry, The Fischer-Tropsch Process: 1950-2000, Catalysis Today, 71, 227-241, 2002.
  54. I. I. Rahmim, Gas-to-liquid technologies: recent advances, economics, prospects, presented at the 26th IAEE Annual International Conference, Prague, June 2003.
  55. Velocys, Inc., 2009, Gas-to-liquids conversion of associated gas enabled by microchannel technology.
  56. E. D. Larson, H. Jin and F. E. Celi, Large-scale gasification-based co-production of fuels and electricity from switchgrass, Available at: http://www.princeton.edu/pei/energy/publications/texts/RBAEF-Thermochem-fuels-power-BioFPR-Mar2009-supporting-info.pdf
  57. G. C. Oguejiofor, Gas flaring in Nigeria: some aspects for accelerated development of SasolChevron GTL plant at Escravos, Energy Sources, Part A, 28, 1365–1376, 2006.
  58. A. O. Tolulope, Oil exploration and environmental degradation: the Nigerian experience. Environ. Inform. Arch. 2, 387-393, 2004.
  59. NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation), 2009 annual statistical bulletin. Available online, www.nnpcgroup.com
  60. A. Pederstad, M. Gallardo and S. Saunier, (April 2015), Improving utilization of associated gas in US tight oil fields, Carbon Limits. Available at: http://catf.us/resources/publications/files/Flaring_Report_Appendix.pdf
  61. A. Weimer, Small-scale gas-to-liquids for flare gas (NanoCatalystGTL), 2015, Technology Application for Cleantech to Market (C2M), Available at: https://ei.haas.berkeley.edu/education/c2m/docs/Fast%20utomated%20energy%20audits%20of%20commercial%20buildings_Application.pdf.
  62. Oxford Catalyst Group, 2011, Microchannel gas-to-liquids for monetizing associated and stranded gas reserves.
  63. K. T. Knutsen, Modelling and optimization of a gas-to-liquid plant, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 2013. Available at: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:648742/FULLTEXT01.pdf.
  64. M. R. Rahimpour, A. Mirvakili, K. Paymooni and B. Moghtaderi, A comparative study between a fluidized-bed and a fixed-bed water perm-selective membrane reactor with in situ H2O removal for Fischere Tropsch synthesis of GTL technology, Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 3, 484-495, 2011.
  65. A. M. Y. Razak, 2007. Industrial gas turbines: performance and operability. Woodhead Publishing Limited, Cambridge, England.
  66. Combined Heat and Power Partnership, WASTE HEAT TO POWER SYSTEMS, 2012. Available at: http://www.epa.gov/chp/documents/waste_heat_power.pdf
  67. R. D. Bott, (2007, October). Flaring answers + questions. Retrieved October 20, 2012, from Stuff Connections - World Bank Intranet. Available at: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGGFR/Resources/578068-1258067586081/FlaringQA.pdfhttp://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGGFR/Resources/578068-1258067586081/FlaringQA.pdf
  68. M. Heydari, M. A. Abdollahi, A. Ataei and M. H. Rahdar, Technical and economic survey on power generation by use of flaring purge gas, International Conference on Chemical, Civil and Environmental Engineering (CCEE-2015) June 5-6, 2015 Istanbul (Turkey).
  69. M. F. Farina, GE Energy, Global strategy and planning, Flare gas reduction, Jan. 2011. Available at: http://www.ge-spark.com/spark/resources/whitepapers/Flare_Gas_Reduction.pdf
  70. A. B. Stambouli and E. Traversa, Solid oxide fuel cell (SOFCs): a review of an environmentally clean and efficient source of energy. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev., 6, 433-455, 2002.
  71. L. Petruzzi, S. Cocchi, S. and F. Fineschi, A global thermo-electrochemical model for SOFC systems design and engineering. J. Power Sources, 118, 96-107, 2003.
  72. J. Yuan and B. Sunden, Analysis of intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell transport processes and performance. Trans. ASME J. Heat Transf. 127, 1380-1390, 2005.
  73. Energy efficient cities initiative, (October 2009), Good practices in city energy efficiency: Tianjin, China - Landfill gas capture for electricity generation. Available at: https://www.esmap.org/sites/esmap.org/files/Tianjin_Case_Study_033011_coverpage.pdf
  74. Q. Xu, X. Yang, C. Liu, K. Li, H. H. Lou and J. L. Gossage,  Chemical plant flare minimization via plantwide dynamic simulation. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 48, 3505-3512, 2009.
  75. T. Maung, D. Ripplinger, G. McKee and D. Saxowsky, (2012), Economics of using flared vs. conventional natural gas to produce nitrogen fertilizer: A feasibility analysis, North Dakota State University. Available at: http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/.
  76. G. Muyzer, D. Sorokin, F. Stams and R. Siezen, (2007, October). Why sequence bacteria that reduce sulfur compounds? Retrieved October 14, 2012, from Doe Joint Genome Institute. Available at: http://www.jgi.doe.gov/sequencing/why/100322.html
  77. M. Fomina, Using procedure automation to reduce acid gas flaring, SPE-172336-MS, 2014. 
  78. B. Brant and S. Brueske, New waste-heat refrigeration unit cuts flaring reduces pollution, Oil Gas J., 96(20), 61-65, 1998.

Publication Details

Published in : Volume 2 | Issue 1 | January-February 2016
Date of Publication : 2016-02-25
License:  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Page(s) : 240-251
Manuscript Number : IJSRSET162137
Publisher : Technoscience Academy

Print ISSN : 2395-1990, Online ISSN : 2394-4099

Cite This Article :

Eman A. Emam, " Gas Flaring Reduction: Perspective Environmental and Economical , International Journal of Scientific Research in Science, Engineering and Technology(IJSRSET), Print ISSN : 2395-1990, Online ISSN : 2394-4099, Volume 2, Issue 1, pp.240-251, January-February-2016. Citation Detection and Elimination     |     
Journal URL : https://ijsrset.com/IJSRSET162137

Article Preview