Investigating the effects of liquid droplets, turbulence, and flare stack dimensions on the combustion efficiency of the modeled flares in crosswind

A mixture of combustible gases, liquids, and water is collected with the extraction of oil. The gaseous mixture is known as "solution gas", which is either "conserved" or "flared". It is generally accepted that certain amount of liquid droplets eludes liquid knockout system and is carried to flare as liquid droplets entrained in flare stream. There are varying levels of turbulence in the atmosphere that have a potential impact on flare efficiency. This study reports results of an experimental study that adds droplets of three different liquids into gaseous flare stream, introduces varying levels of turbulence to crosswind, and changes flare stack wall thickness of scaled down modeled flares. Iso-octane and diesel droplets increased flare efficiency. Distilled water droplets decreased flare efficiency. Flare efficiency decreased with an increase in turbulence intensity, where scale of turbulence tested had little affect on flare efficiency. There is a general trend of decreasing efficiency with thicker walls.