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What components are burned in refinery flares, and can they be recovered and reused?
What the torch burns are mainly dry gas that is difficult to recycle, along with small amounts of light hydrocarbons and liquefied gas components. But with gas holders now in use, the flares do not burn on a regular basis; some refineries have even turned off their permanent lights, achieving complete energy savings. In an accident scenario, as the system needs to be depressurized urgently, a large amount of gas is released into the gas holder; at this time, the capacity of the gas holder is not sufficient, and flares are typically used to burn off the released gas.
What is burned in the torch also includes light components that are released as part of maintenance purging procedures, or during startup/shutdown operations or in emergency situations. When the gas holder cannot handle it, it is usually vented to a flare for burning.
The answers on the first and second floors are quite comprehensive – they explain which gases can be collected in gas tanks, compressed using compressors, and then sent to the gas distribution network for use in boilers and other devices. Those flaming flares that you see are characteristic of refineries that do not have gas tanks; such practices are both wasteful and harmful to the environment
Energy can be recovered using a flare gas recovery system in order to achieve energy savings and reduce consumption.
Refineries with hydrogenation processes have basically eliminated flares.