Air Ingress to Flare Stack with No Purge Flow
Air Ingress to Flare Stack with No Purge Flow
(OP)
Hello all
I have a question dealing with what will occur if the purge gas to flare system (nitrogen) has a supply failure. The flare is equipped with velocity seal. I see from John Sink and API521 that this describes oxygen levels below the seal as they will rise almost immediately after purge stops when using velocity seal but how quick will the stack fill with air? Approximately. The reason I ask is currently for the flare when nitrogen supply is encountered a small flow of natural gas will be started at the flare base but this must be done by operator who travels to the flare and could take a while. Therefore worries arise about making an explosive mixture ourselves. Thank you.
I have a question dealing with what will occur if the purge gas to flare system (nitrogen) has a supply failure. The flare is equipped with velocity seal. I see from John Sink and API521 that this describes oxygen levels below the seal as they will rise almost immediately after purge stops when using velocity seal but how quick will the stack fill with air? Approximately. The reason I ask is currently for the flare when nitrogen supply is encountered a small flow of natural gas will be started at the flare base but this must be done by operator who travels to the flare and could take a while. Therefore worries arise about making an explosive mixture ourselves. Thank you.





RE: Air Ingress to Flare Stack with No Purge Flow
I don't have a time for you and I'm not sure John Zink would provide a hard number but I would suspect it's less than 15 minutes and I wouldn't want to have to take credit for operator intervention.
RE: Air Ingress to Flare Stack with No Purge Flow