Why isn’t a flame arrester installed on fuel oil?
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Why aren’t flame arrestors installed on the pipelines that carry fuel oil in the atmospheric and vacuum furnaces of atmospheric and vacuum distillation units? The pipelines for burning fuel gas are equipped with flame arresters; why is that different?
A flame arrester prevents the spread and propagation of burning flames in gases. Liquid pipes are not required.
What was said upstairs is correct – fuel oil is dirty and tends to clog the filters; even a flame arrester can get blocked as well.
The purpose of a flame arrester is primarily to prevent air from flowing back from the burner into the pipes or even into the equipment located upstream, thereby preventing the formation of explosive gases that could cause combustion to propagate in reverse along the pipes and lead to explosions in the equipment. A flame arrester consists mainly of metal wires; when the burning flame comes into contact with these wires, the temperature drops, the conditions for combustion are disrupted, and thus the flame front is stopped, protecting the equipment upstream. For liquid pipelines, first of all, air does not easily mix with the liquid to form a homogeneous explosive gas. Secondly, as the explosive gas ignites within the pipeline, it comes into contact with the liquid fuel, which naturally lowers the temperature. Lastly, as mentioned above, blockages are also likely to occur.
I learned it! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Why aren’t flame arrestors installed on the pipelines that carry fuel oil in the atmospheric and vacuum furnaces of atmospheric and vacuum distillation units? Pipelines for burning fuel gas are equipped with flame arrestors; why is that different? Pipelines for fuel oil have a liquid seal, and if the pipeline is filled with fuel oil, no air can enter and form a ‘deflagrating mixture’, so fuel oil pipelines do not need flame arrestors.