An Experimental\nStudy of the Effects of Waste-Gas\nComposition and Crosswind on Non-assisted Flares Using a Novel Indoor\nTesting Approach

Non-assisted\nflares are a significant fraction of the flares in\nuse today, but there are few studies at real-world conditions. The\ncurrent work presents a novel indoor testing facility for characterizing\nnon-assisted flares including the effects of crosswind. Multiple flare\ndesigns were tested using flare gas flow rates from 1.8 to 113 thousand\nstandard cubic feet per day (MSCFD) with natural gas and propane at\ncrosswind speeds from 0 to 13.1 miles per hour (MPH). Combustion efficiency\n(CE) and destruction removal efficiency of methane (DRE<sub>CH<sub>4</sub></sub>) were determined for all operating conditions. CE >\n98% was observed for low crosswind conditions for all flare geometries;\nhowever, the 3-in. pipe flare underperformed (CE < 96.5%) for natural\ngas at higher wind speeds and lower flare gas flow rates (e.g., 6.8\nMSCFD and >4.6 MPH). Engineered burners significantly improved\nperformance.\nThe results are discussed in the context of EPA assumptions, prior\npipe flare wind-tunnel studies, and proposed scaling relations.