Demonstration of

Hydrogen Use in Steamand Air-Assisted Flares

Alexis McKittrick, Ph.D.
Combustion R&D
Praxair, Inc.
June 9, 2009

www.praxair.com

Hydrogen as a Fuel
for Flaring

Current EPA flare compliance

options

Praxair pursuing modification of 40

CFR 60.18 and 40 CFR 63.11 to
extend the current specification to
include steam- and air-assisted flares

Potential benefits:

Non-assisted Flares:
200 Btu/scf minimum OR
8 volume % hydrogen minimum
Assisted flares
300 Btu/scf minimum

Natural gas added to sweeten

low-Btu streams and comply with
regulations
Much less hydrogen than natural
gas is needed to comply with EPA
requirements for low-Btu flare
streams

Lower operating cost - 50% to 70%

reduction
Lower environmental emissions
CO2, CO, NOx
Lower net natural gas consumption

Low-Btu Flaring for

Assisted Flares
Currently, many flare
operators add natural gas to
the waste stream to comply
with 300 Btu/scf regulation

+
NATURAL
GAS
(420 scf)

Using Praxairs proposed

regulation, flare operators
could add Hydrogen to 11.5
vol% to comply

WASTE GAS
30 Btu/scf
(1000 scf)

+
HYDROGEN
(130 scf)

Benefits Example
Assisted Flare 100k scfh stream @ 30 Btu/scf
Natural Gas
300 Btu/scf

Hydrogen
11.5 vol.%

Reduction
(%)

42,000

13,000

69

$1,400,000

$425,000

70

NOx emissions (ton/yr)

11.8

1.9

84

CO emissions (ton/yr)

60.2

9.9

84

CO2 emissions (ton/yr)

19,363

2,605

87

Fuel gas required for compliance (scfh)

Annual fuel costs (24/7 operation, 340 d/y)
$4/MMBtu Natural Gas

~$1MM/year in potential annual savings

4

Steam-Assisted
Assisted Flares
Emissions Reduction with Hydrogen
20,000

70

Emissions (ton/yr)

60

Natural gas fuel

18,000

Hydrogen fuel

16,000

50

14,000

40

12,000

Natural gas fuel

Hydrogen fuel

10,000
30

8,000
6,000

20

4,000

10

2,000
0

0
NOx

CO

CO2

Stream assumptions: waste gas volume = 100,000 scfh; waste gas heating value = 30 BTU / scf; H2 volume % required = 11.5%
NOx & CO Calculations: Based on Standard Emissions Index from TCEQs Air Permit Technical Guidance for Chemical Sources:
Flares and Vapor Oxidizers, October 2000, RG 109 (Draft) pg 18-19
Thermal NOX 0.068 lb/MMBTU for steam assisted
CO - 0.3465 lb/MMBTU for steam assisted
CO2 Calculations: Based on 9.5lbs of CO2 for 1lb H2 produced from SMR; 113lbs CO2 for 1000scf of Natural Gas

Testing Hydrogen Addition

to Assisted Flares

Flare testing facility built in Tonawanda,

NY 1H 2008
Variety of fuels
Assist / non-assist operation

Goal: Add hydrogen compliance option

for assisted flares to EPA regulations

Critical parameters:
>98% destruction efficiency of
hydrocarbons
Flame stability
No visible emissions / smoke

Assisted Flare Diagrams

Pilot Gas
Inlet

Air
Outlet

Side View
Steam
Outlet
5

Air
Inlet

Steam
Inlet

Waste
Gas
Inlet

Top View

Pilot Gas
Inlet

Pilot
Conduit
Connection

Steam
Inlet
Air
Inlet

Waste
Gas
Inlet

Additional Considerations

Mirrored previous flare studies wherever possible

Flame Stability and Destruction Efficiency tests
Flare diameter 3 inches
Ethylene used as surrogate HAP
Use of emissions capture hood
CO2 used as a tracer to determine amount of captured flare emissions

Simplification of assist test worst case scenario

Steam assist is simple 5 nozzle ring design
Air assist will not use advanced mixing aides

Baseline measurements
Test 300 Btu/scf waste stream for each assist setting (mimics current operation)
Replicate non-assisted hydrogen-fueled
fueled flare flame stability tests to demonstrate
equivalency of Praxairs testing
10

Test Variables for

Assisted Flares
Variable

Range / Value Tested

H2 volume %

5 - 25%

Hydrocarbon heating value

30, 100, & 200 Btu/scf

Velocity

20 - 150 ft/s

Steam Assist

0.4 lb steam / lb ethylene

Air Assist

20% of stoichiometric air

requirement
11

Flame Stability Images

(A)

(B)

Not
Lifted

Lifted
Flame

No
Flame
Pilot

Flare
Tip

Pilot
Flare
Tip
Flare Pipe

Flare Pipe

12

Flame Stability Results

Air-Assisted Flare
Hydrogen Volume Percent (%)

20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
0

50

100

Exit Velocity (ft/s)

150

200
13

Flame Stability Results

Steam-Assisted
Assisted Flare
Hydrogen Volume Percent (%)

20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
0

50

100

Exit Velocity (ft/s)

150

200
14

Flame Stability Results

Fitting linear equations to the flame stability data
results in the following:
Air-assisted flare:

X H 2 (%) = 0.0489 * v( ft / s) + 10.3

Steam-assisted flare: X H 2 (%) = 0.0575 * v( ft / s ) + 9.83

Where:
X H 2 (%) = Hydrogen volume percent in the waste gas exiting the flare
v( ft / s ) = Exit velocity of the flare (excluding assist gas), not to exceed 150 ft/s

These equations can be used to determine the

amount of hydrogen required to ensure a stable flame
at a given exit velocity
15

Destruction Efficiency
Results Using Hydrogen
Heating Value Assist
of Waste Gas Used
(Btu/scf)

Runs
n

Destruction Efficiency
(%)
Average 95% Confidence

Exit
Velocity
(ft/s)

Flame
Stability
Ratio

30

Steam

99.77

99.61

151

1.03

100

Steam

99.94

99.92

150

1.04

200

Steam

99.99

99.98

151

1.03

30

Air

99.26

99.02

150

1.02

100

Air

99.90

99.88

150

1.02

200

Air

99.92

99.90

150

1.02
16

Assisted Flare Testing Results

How Much Hydrogen?

Slightly more
hydrogen required
for assisted flares
than non-assisted
These numbers
must be approved
by the EPA
Assuming any new
regulation will be
equation-based
(similar to current
compliance options)

Exit Velocity
(ft/s)

Hydrogen Requirement (vol%)

No Assist

Air-Assist

Steam-Assist

25

8.0

11.5

11.3

50

10.2

12.7

12.7

75

12.4

14.0

14.1

100

14.5

15.2

15.6

125

16.4

17.0

150

17.6

18.5
17

Praxair Study Conclusions

Hydrogen use in assisted flares study mirrored previous
flare testing as closely as possible
Results established a flame stability envelope for
assisted flares over a range of velocities
Destruction efficiencies above 99% were observed for
all hydrogen-fueled
fueled conditions tested
Requesting that 40CFR 60.18 & 63.11 be amended to
include hydrogen as a compliance option for steamsteam and
air-assisted
assisted flares based on these findings
18