Thoughts and suggestions on the safety and energy-saving aspects of the \"torch lighting system\"

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Thoughts and suggestions on the safety and energy-saving aspects of the \"flame burner ignition system\" I. Overview and definition What is a flame burner? Torches are primarily used to burn off flammable gases that are generated during the production processes of companies in the oil, petrochemical, refining, chemical manufacturing, natural gas, fertilizer, and chemical industries. These gases cannot be recycled or reused, and they are often toxic, harmful, flammable, and explosive – posing certain risks; the torches convert such gases into harmless ones before releasing them into the atmosphere. 　　As a safety and environmental protection device, the role of torches cannot be underestimated. 　　Torches are mainly divided into two categories: high-altitude torches and ground torches. 　　High-altitude flare: also known as emission flare, vent flare, release flare, etc. Classified by their structure, they can be elevated torches (tower-type torches), self-supporting torches, and (inclined) cable-supported torches, etc. Their height is usually in the dozens of meters, or even over 100 meters; currently, the tallest high-altitude torch in China, standing at 180 meters tall, has been put into operation. 　　Ground torch: It mainly refers to a closed-type gas combustion device in which the burner is placed on the ground and the surrounding area is enclosed. 　　High-altitude torches are inexpensive but require a lot of space, while ground-based torches are the opposite. 　　 　　For both of these types of torches, igniting the exhaust gases relies on a \"torch ignition system\". 　　The torch ignition systems can be mainly divided into two types based on the ignition method: \"instant ignition type\" and \"sustained combustion type\". 　　The instant ignition type torch lighting system is what we commonly refer to as the “automatic torch ignition system”. Its working principle is as follows: when pressure instruments, flow meters, and other devices installed on the vent pipeline detect the arrival of exhaust gas, the automatic torch ignition system is activated to ignite the device. It opens the fuel gas valves for the high-altitude igniter and the permanent flame, while the high-voltage generator produces high voltage. High-voltage electric sparks generated by the sparking electrodes ignite the fuel gas in the high-altitude igniter, which in turn lights the permanent flame; the flame from the permanent flame then ignites the exhaust gas ； After the exhaust gas is ignited, the fuel gas valve is closed and the high-pressure generator is stopped; such automatic ignition systems for torches are referred to as \"secondary ignition type automatic torch ignition systems\" or \"indirect ignition type automatic torch ignition systems\". There is also a type of automatic torch ignition system that does not use an eternal flame; instead, the exhaust gas is directly ignited by the flame from a high-altitude igniter. Such systems are referred to as \"one-shot ignition torch automatic ignition systems\" or \"direct ignition torch automatic ignition systems\". 　　The long-burning torch ignition system is the most classic type of torch ignition system. Its working principle is: a ground igniter or an aerial igniter is used to light the gas in the eternal flame, and the flame is kept burning through automatic or manual control. During emission, the exhaust gas is directly ignited by the flame of a pilot light. II. Safe Operation and Energy Saving of the Torch Ignition System 　At present, in manufacturing enterprises, the energy-saving measures related to the fuel gas used for torches focus on the use of exhaust gas for ignition. The most widely used and popular system in China is the instant ignition type torch ignition system – the automatic torch ignition system. 　　Because of the long-burning type torch ignition system, its pilot light remains burning continuously. Constant-flame lamps consume a large amount of fuel gas at all times; there are several such lamps on one torch, and over the course of months and years, the amount of fuel used is considerable. 　　Thus, an instant ignition system representing advanced ideas was born—the Torch Automatic Ignition System. 　　The introduction of this system has brought significant energy-saving benefits to enterprises, and it has been widely welcomed. 　　I won’t go into detail about its advantages here; I’ll just talk about the things to keep in mind when using this system. 　　This paper first divides exhaust emissions into two types: deterministic emissions and stochastic emissions. 　　Deterministic emissions mainly refer to emissions during startup, shutdown, and planned emissions during the production process; they are a type of controlled emission. Such emissions can be carried out in a calm and orderly manner. 　　Indeterministic emissions mainly refer to emissions resulting from emergency accidents, as well as those that occur during the production process due to material balance issues and cannot be recovered. They represent uncontrolled, random emissions, with emergency accident emissions often involving very large quantities of emissions. For such emissions, the flare ignition system must have a very fast response time. 　　Clearly, compared to ignition by exhaust gases, the safety issues during torch operation mainly arise during the process of non-deterministic emissions. 　　For constant-burning torch ignition systems, since the pilot light is always burning, it can ignite the exhaust gases at any time as long as those gases are present. Therefore, a continuously burning type torch ignition system is definitely the safest torch ignition system. There’s no need to say more about this. 　　Next, we will analyze the safety issues of the instant-ignition type torch automatic ignition system. 　　As can be understood from the ignition principle of the automatic torch ignition system described earlier, it can function effectively only when the detection instruments, control devices, and actuating devices are operating properly, and when the fuel gas, power supply, and instrument gas supply (in the case of pneumatic instruments) are all functioning normally. 　　When discussing such systems, managers and technical staff in many companies first praise their energy-saving capabilities highly; however, some technical and production workers in these companies have pointed out some practical issues related to their use. Issues such as wiring problems with the sparking electrodes on the high-altitude igniter, or carbon buildup on those electrodes that prevents the generation of electric sparks, are obviously not repairable at high altitude during the production process (of course, it is possible to carry out repairs, but that would likely result in some loss of production time) ； There are also other issues such as delayed ignition after the emission of gases, which leads to deflagration in the air ； Occasionally, there are also instances where the ignition fails, and so on. 　　Regarding the safety requirements of the ignition system itself, such as the safe state in the event of a power failure in the solenoid valves, whether the fuel gas solenoid valve for the pilot light is in an open or closed position, this may have little impact on the service life of the pilot light. However, if there is a power failure in the fuel gas solenoid valve of the high-altitude igniter, and if the solenoid valve used to ensure ignition of the exhaust gases is set to remain open, then it is inevitable that fuel gas will continue to be supplied to the high-altitude igniter after ignition occurs; it’s almost certain that either the igniter electrode or the high-voltage wires will get damaged! Then who will help you light it again? Conversely, what if a normally closed fuel gas solenoid valve is used to protect the high-altitude igniter from damage? Hehe, where does the fuel gas for the high-altitude igniter come from when igniting? If pneumatic control valves are used, the same problems will arise! See, how profound is the contradiction between “the safety of the emission system” and “the safety of the ignition system”! Incompatible safety conditions prevent the torch automatic ignition system from achieving the best of both worlds! This is a serious flaw in the system itself, a major security risk! 　　Furthermore, even when the torch automatic ignition system is in perfect working order, since the location where the flame is generated is exposed to wind, rain, and snow, and there is also a considerable distance for the flame to travel from the ignition point to the top of the eternal flame, there are good reasons to doubt the immediacy and reliability of ignition in such cases. 　　Surely many people can still remember the stories of using rifles, flares, fireworks, and steel cables with torches to ignite the exhaust gases? 　　When I searched on Baidu and Google using the keywords “PLC crash” and “DCS crash,” I found that in both search engines there were tens of thousands of results for each of these keywords; many of these incidents occurred with equipment equipped with internationally renowned brands. It’s obvious that such things are not uncommon. Yes, when such things happen, if exhaust gases are released, who will be in charge of ensuring that those control valves and those high-altitude igniters function properly? 　　On various websites, I’ve come across many companies that share their experiences in managing the \"automatic torch ignition system\" after turning off the permanent lights. These experiences generally revolve around things like \"how often inspections should be carried out\" and \"what maintenance cycle is required.\" It seems that this automatic torch ignition system is extremely reliable – it never causes problems at other times; if a problem does arise, it only happens when maintenance personnel are present, as if it possesses an indomitable spirit that refuses to give up even in the face of minor issues. Hehe! It’s strange that I’ve never seen these company managers and technical staff discuss what should be done in situations where the device is in good condition at 2 o’clock, starts to malfunction at 3 o’clock, and happens to fail just at the time of peak emissions at 4 o’clock. Yes, not a single company has ever provided a straightforward account of their experiences or insights on this matter. Reports can stay reports; as long as safety hazards remain hidden behind the facade, that’s fine! 　　Many people must have encountered situations like, \"The TV at home was working fine just a moment ago – why can’t it be turned on now?\" Hehe! You must understand what this monster means by saying this, right? 　　There is a very bad possibility of a systemic power outage – who will monitor that? Who will control it? Who’s going to light it? Don’t tell this weirdo about UPSs. Even if there’s no failure related to the UPS, there’s still a possibility of a disconnection between the output of the UPS and your equipment! 　　Let’s add another hypothetical scenario: what if the emitted gases are lighter than the air and cannot be ignited at the time of emission? Then, these toxic and harmful gases will spread into the atmosphere, causing severe pollution ； Furthermore, if the exhaust gas is lighter than the air and cannot be ignited immediately upon emission, then once it is ignited, a massive explosion in the air may occur ； Imagine again what would happen if the exhaust gases were heavier than the air, and could never be ignited when emitted? Or what if the exhaust gas is denser than the atmosphere, resulting in a long delay before ignition occurs during emission? I dare not go any further in imagining this. 　　What other things might happen? Hehe, this freak really doesn’t want to think too much! 　　We certainly wouldn’t want to see the hard-earned benefits of the torch automatic ignition system being easily taken away by any accident ； We also wouldn’t want to see any accident destroy our living environment ； We certainly wouldn’t want to see an accident that directly injures or kills people. III. Next, I’ll share a few of my opinions (or rather, suggestions). First, I’ll give an example that everyone can easily imagine. 　　This happened to a friend of mine. He is an excellent Chinese citizen, as can be seen from his adherence to traffic rules. When crossing the road, he always used the crosswalk, and he would wait until the pedestrian signal turned green before crossing, regardless of whether there were cars around. Yet one day, while crossing the road as usual, he was hit by a car and suffered serious injuries. Heh, he had never thought of it – he had always been walking on the road properly, so why would a car hit him today? (Note, the “hehe” here is not meant as mockery toward this guy’s friend; it’s a transitional tone. Hehe, so let’s use “hehe” again!) ) Even the most meticulous plans can have a flaw! ! ! 　　I believe that many production accidents are not entirely caused by operational or management issues; if one analyzes carefully the structure, composition, or principles of such systems, it might be discovered that the systems designed to ensure safety themselves have safety flaws! 　　A lot of “apparent safety” is built on the shoulders of “insecurity”! 　　Whether to trade \"safety\" for \"efficiency\" or to use \"large amounts of money\" to ensure \"safety\" is a question that deserves careful consideration and weighing. 　　We have strict regulations regarding the setting of the ignition points for the exhaust gases on the torch; the standards require that these ignition points must be \"reliable\", and there are also mandatory requirements regarding the number of ignition points to be installed. I believe this rule is based on solid scientific principles! 　　That’s all. In my opinion, when choosing the ignition method for a torch, safety should be the primary consideration. 　　To this end, when choosing an instantly ignitable torch automatic ignition system, we must first assess the degree of harm that all the gases discharged into the torch could cause to people, the factory, and the environment in the event of a failure to ignite the torch or if the discharge gases fail to ignite on time. We need to make the worst-case predictions; only after ensuring that no harm will occur, as determined by this primary requirement, can we evaluate the investment and benefits associated with using such a system. We also need to take into account potential production losses due to special maintenance conditions or the risk of the system operating improperly, as well as the impact of environmental and natural factors on the success rate of ignition, and the worst-case scenarios that could arise in the event of system damage, among other things. Otherwise, this weirdo thinks one should be careful when choosing this system. Safety and environmental incidents cannot be calculated using probabilities. 　　Keep in mind: what has never happened may yet happen! ! ! 　　We need to give comprehensive and thorough consideration to the safety of the torch ignition system itself. 　　We should not blindly believe in the common notion that \"the better the control equipment, the more reliable the system.\" Instead, we must always keep in mind that even the best equipment can fail! 　　Perhaps whatever system is used, there will be various shortcomings, but I believe that you certainly won’t object to the idea of \"reducing safety hazards as much as possible\"! 　　The type of torch ignition system should be selected appropriately. 　　As for the eternal flame, it consumes 3–5 cubic meters of fuel gas per hour; over a year, this amounts to 26,000 to 43,000 cubic meters. Surely, we can’t ignore safety and environmental protection just to save such a small amount of fuel gas Eliminating the torch flame does not mean turning off those flames used to ensure safety and protect the environment, as well as those used to ignite exhaust gases; rather, it means eliminating the towering flames of the exhaust gases. If a perpetual light should be lit at that spot, then let it be lit! 　　We must keep the ‘eternal lamp’ of safety and environmental protection burning brightly! 　　Regarding the “flame auto-ignition system” that is already in operation, I have reason to recommend that operational management be further strengthened; in particular, no opportunity for inspection or maintenance of the top components of this flame auto-ignition system should be missed, in order to maximize its reliability. 　　Systematically increase the frequency of routine inspections and maintenance, conducting them once or even twice per shift, and keep detailed inspection records. When it comes to troubleshooting, it is necessary to act quickly, even if it’s not possible to do so immediately. In this regard, even though this is done, it is still not possible to guarantee that the system will remain intact at all times, nor can it ensure that the exhaust gases are ignited at any moment; however, it can at least reduce the likelihood of emission incidents caused by failures in the automatic flare ignition system. 　 　　I’ve said a few honest things, so feel free to choose and throw ‘clay bricks’, ‘brick blocks’, ‘silver bricks’ and ‘gold bricks’ at me! Even though it’s smashed hard! ! !