Recovery Act - Real-time Remote Detection of HR-VOC Content in Flares

The large quantities of natural gas produced in the oil refining process pose a serious explosion hazard, and are disposed of by open air burning, commonly referred to as flaring. Incomplete combustion of the natural gas results in the release of hazardous organic compounds, which pose serious risks to the environment and to public health. Real-time monitoring and control of flare combustion efficiency is needed to mitigate the release of these chemicals into the environment.The overall goal is to develop and demonstrate a prototype remote-sensing system for real-time, autonomous monitoring of flare combustion efficiency. The system is based on the detection and quantification of the infrared spectral emissions of the combustion species.The overall goal of the Phase I effort was to provide a preliminary design, both instrumentation and software, for an end-to-end system capable of remotely monitoring and quantifying flare combustion species. This was accomplished through the use of flare combustion and spectral simulation models to evaluate system design concepts and spectral analysis algorithms.The overall goal of the Phase II effort is the development and demonstration of a prototype system for monitoring flare combustion efficiency and quantifying the release of hazardous chemical compounds. This will be accomplished through the evaluation of the operation of the prototype sensor based on simulation models, laboratory measurements of sub-scale flares, and field measurements of operational flares. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: The new technology will benefit all commercial and Federal Government groups which require the monitoring and optimization of combustion processes. Within the Federal Government this would include the DOE, EPA and DOD. It will also have a direct and immediate impact on the Sandia National Laboratory