Shaanxi Chemical upgrades its flare system to help achieve energy savings and carbon reduction

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Shaanxi Chemical Upgrades Its Torch System to Help Achieve Energy Savings and Carbon Reduction Author/Source: Shaanxi Chemical Date: 2022-02-15 Views: 12 As a large-scale chemical enterprise, the company’s facility area is home to tall chimneys for boilers, methanol washing towers, urea granulation towers, as well as a torch system – including accident torches and acidic gas torches. These structures not only have a striking appearance but also feature flames that remain lit continuously. They serve as important safety and environmental protection facilities within the chemical production system, acting as guardians of safe operations at critical moments during production. To further ensure the efficient operation of the accident flare, thereby achieving the goals of energy savings, reduced consumption, as well as safety and stability. The company has taken multiple measures: firstly, it has upgraded the hardware facilities by raising the sealing level of the vent valves in the gasification section, the shift section, and the liquid nitrogen washing section from level 4 to level 5, thereby reducing the amount of process gas emitted by the flare system at its source ； Secondly, the liquefied petroleum gas previously used to assist combustion in the torch was replaced with fuel gas, which directly reduced the consumption of liquefied petroleum gas by over 220 tons and cut the carbon dioxide emissions generated during its combustion by nearly 670 tons ； Thirdly, through technical upgrades, the remaining fuel gas released from the flare is recovered and used for combustion in boilers, thereby recovering the thermal energy of this gas and achieving hierarchical utilization of energy. Through various modifications, the \"relative extinguishment\" of the company’s emergency flares was achieved; this reduced fuel combustion and carbon dioxide emissions while fully meeting the enterprise’s requirements for safe production, thus yielding the desired results. To further consolidate the results of the improvements, the Production Technology Department takes the lead in assisting and urging the production plants to strengthen their daily management; firstly, every opportunity for furnace switching over during gasification is utilized to conduct a thorough inspection of each vent valve ； Second, conduct a comprehensive inspection of all vent points in the production system on a weekly basis to check for any abnormalities such as internal leaks ； Third, all safety valves in the system are calibrated and replaced to ensure the reliability of the hardware equipment. Fourth, the components of the gas burned in the flare are analyzed to determine whether there are any leaks, allowing for further investigation. Building on the significant improvements achieved in the renovation of the accident flares, the next step will be to carry out renovations on the acidic flares, with the main goal being to recover the combustible components from these flares’ gases and reuse that heat. Through the upgrading of the flare system, it is possible to address issues at the source of accidental flaring and recover the calorific value of acidic flares, thereby achieving the goal of saving energy and reducing carbon emissions in the flare system.