A question regarding the placement of the torch
Thread Content
I am studying the \"Design Standards for Natural Gas Liquefaction Plants\" GB51261-2019; I’m not sure how to interpret note 4 in Table 4.0.9, which states that \"the radiant heat from flares should not affect the maintenance and operation of adjacent flares.\" As I recall, if a plant is equipped with high-pressure and low-pressure flares, these two flares are generally placed quite close to each other; in particular, the high-pressure flare is mounted on a shared support structure. Moreover, in GB50984, under \"4.7.2 Safety layout requirements for torch emissions within different ranges of radiant heat intensity\", the term \"adjacent torches\" as a facility type is not mentioned either. Note 5 to this table states that “auxiliary equipment of flare facilities is not subject to the provisions of this table.” But if there are 2 torches, the auxiliary facilities should also be separate for each one, right? You can’t use the ladder, guardrails, or liquid separation tank from one torch as your own auxiliary facilities, can you? So what exactly does standardization mean? ““The radiant heat from the torch should not affect the maintenance and operation of adjacent torches.” Does providing maintenance personnel with radiation-proof clothing also meet the specifications? So we don’t need to consider people in terms of spacing? I’m a bit confused; it seems the guidelines don’t clearly explain how the spacing is determined, so I’m seeking advice from everyone.
Upon re-reading it, I found that this table shows the fire separation distances between natural gas liquefaction plants and adjacent enterprises in the petroleum and natural gas chemicals as well as coal chemicals industries; these two flares must belong to those two plants. If it are two flares in a factory, I think it should be handled according to Table 5.2.1, where no spacing requirement exists between \"places with open flames or sparks\" and \"places where open flames emit sparks\". I wonder if everyone thinks the same way?
When they are set up together, they form one torch; what needs to be considered is the distance between the two torches. If they are turned on and off at the same time, then there’s no problem； Unless both torches are turned on and off simultaneously—meaning that when one needs maintenance, the other is in operation—the maximum thermal radiation from the other torch should be less than 4.73 kW/m² at that time.
This sentence is copied from other specifications; you can refer to the petrochemical-related specifications for a detailed explanation on this topic