FUGITIVE EMISSIONS

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this article is to create public awareness in general .It
also provides decision makers reference information for maintaining better
environment.
Key words: Fugitive Emissions, Environment Impact, Clean Air Act

About Author: Mr P.J. Lakhapate is a Chemical Engr. from UDCT (Mumbai). He

has more than 34 years of industrial experience. He has published more than 40
articles. He is working as a consultant. He can be contacted at NL-6-1-5, Sector –9 ,
Nerul , Navi-Mumbai ,India -400706 . Phone: 91-22-27702655 .
Email:plakhapate@ gmail.com.
 FUGITIVE EMISSIONS

Introduction

Most of the fugitive emissions cases are invisible to the eye. The fugitive
emissions of the toxic/hazardous/corrosive substances are silent killers to human
beings ,other living species, flora and fauna . Hence it is essential to know
everybody about the fugitive emissions.

What is fugitive emissions ?

It is defined as “ Any chemical or mixture of chemicals, in any physical form, which

represents an unanticipated or spurious leak, from anywhere on an industrial site “

The emission from the stack of the fired heater are not fugitive emissions. However
emission from valve packing or pump seal are examples of fugitive emissions.

Why is fugitive emissions important?

Fugitive emissions in USA have been estimated to be in excess of 300,000 tones per
year, accounting for about one third of the total organic emissions from chemical plants
and inevitably mirrored in Europe.

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s) emissions are of significant environmental

concern because some have the potential for Photochemical Ozone Creation
Potential (POCP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Global Warming
Potential(GWP), Summer smog, Toxicity, Carcinogenicity , Mutagenicity, Odour
nuisance etc.

Apart from Safety, Health & Environment aspects , it also represents a huge loss of
potentially valuable materials and cause of plant efficiency.
Visible cost - Loss of material

Invisible costs - Labour to repair leaks

- Material to repair leak
- Wasted energy
- Low plant efficiency
- Environmental clean up
- Environmental fines
- Lost sale due to poor image
- Claims for personal injury

On what factors depend the values of fugitive emissions?

Many process streams in petrochemical refineries are “light”(containing at least 20% of

substances with a vapour pressure greater than 0.3kPa at 20 deg C) and at high
pressure (1500- 3000 kPa) conditions which encourage fugitive losses.

The values of fugitive emissions depend upon,

• Equipment design
• Age and Quality of equipment
• Standard of installation
• Vapour pressure of the process fluid
• Process temperature and pressure
• Number and type of sources
• Method of determination
• Inspection and maintenance routine
• Rate of production

How are fugitive emissions measured?

At present many end users prefer a leak –tightness result expressed in terms of ppm
measured by sniffing, since this is the format of Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) targets in the USA and is widely used across the world.

However ppm does not measure leakage rate., but indicates leakage severity
Further research is being done to correlate ppm concentration with the leakage
rate.
What are the sources of fugitive emissions?

1) Atmospheric tanks with/without breather valve

2) Tank lids
3) Seals of rotary equipment e.g. Pump, Blower, Compressor, Turbine, Agitator,
4) Flange joints
5) Valve stem seals
6) Sample points
7) Leakage thro’ vent & drain.

What is the distribution of fugitive emissions in a large petrochemical complex?

Studies in various refineries indicate the following approximate distribution of

fugitive emissions
%
Valves 60
Relief Valves 15
Tanks 10
Rotary Equipment. 10
Flanges 5
---------
100
What is the breakup for fugitive emissions of valves?

ISO-15848-1 is a standard for Measurement, Test & Qualification procedures for

Fugitive Emissions for Industrial Valves.

Study differentiates fugitive emissions based on type of valve

% Leaking per type

1) Regulating Control Valve 70

2) Automatic Gate Valve 27
3) Gate Valve 26
4) Globe Valve 20
5) Plug Valve 20
6) Ball Valve 1
-----------
100

Also note that less than 1% of valves in gas/vapour service account for major
fugitive emissions in the refinery.
How fugitive emissions can be reduced?

Integrated Pollution Prevention Approach is necessary. A life cycle cost for

environmentally safe design must be evaluated at the beginning of the project.

For Valves:

The fugitive emission can be substantially reduced by proper

a) selection of type of valve (Plug or Ball instead of Gate or Globe)
b) selection of packing material based on process parameters
c) type of packing ( Diagonal interlock braided or flexible Graphite type,)
d) packing with bellow seal or with lantern ring
e) installation
f) maintenance

For Control Valves:

PTFE stem gaskets are sensitive to thermal cycles to 350 deg F. In the case of
ordinary graphite gaskets the loading force requirement is high. This increases the
stem friction and affects stem movement. These problems can be solved by
perfluoroelastomer packing .(Perfluoroelastomers are polymerized from TFE and
several other monomers including perfluoromethyl vinyl ether)

For Relief Valves:

It is difficult to reduce the emissions through the relief valves since in most of
the cases it is linked with upset process conditions. However following guidelines
can be used.

a) Keep adequate margin between operating pressure and set pressure.

b) For VOC emissions ,connect to flare header
(If possible provide voc recovery system)

For Rotary Equipments

Rotary equipments include Pumps, Compressors, Blowers, Turbines, Agitators,

Mixers, Blenders etc.
The fugitive emissions for rotary equipment depend upon

Design - Process Parameters

- Speed
- Seal selection
Installation - Fixing with base plate
- Piping connection forces
- Shaft & Casing alignment
- Coupling alignment
- Balancing of shaft & impeller
Commissioning - Poor priming

Operation - Beyond performance range

- Poor NPSHa

Maintenance - Inadequate

An approximate leakage rate for various sealing options are given below

gm/hr ppm
Gland Packing >1 > 1000
Single Mech . Seal 0.01 – 1.0 10 – 1000
Double Mech . Seal < 0.01 < 10
Sealless 0 0

The life cycle cost matrix for seals is given below

High 1 Dual Pressurised seals (gas lub)

4 2 Dual Pressurised seals (liq lub)
4 3 Dual Unpressurised seals (liq lub)
4 Sealless Pump Drive System
5 Advance Tecnology Single Seal
Life Cycle 6 General Purpose Single Seal
Cost
2

1 3
5

Low Impact on Environment High

For Bolted Flanged Connections:

The factors affecting the leakages are

a) Non parallel flanges
b) Non smooth surfaces
c) Surface waviness
d) Quality of gasket
e) Type of gasket (Non metallic, Semi –metallic, Metallic)
f) Form of gasket (Plane Sheet, Rectangular, Spiral wound)
g) Type of joint involved ( flat, tongue & groove)
h) Process parameters(Pressure , Temperature)
i) Fluid handled
j) No. of Bolts
k) Installation Procedure (placement of gasket, tightening of bolts)
l) Maintenance

A study conducted by Pressure Vessel Research Council (PVRC) of USA

indicate that most flange joint failures resulting in leak are due to

%
a) Improper installation 26
b) Flange Damage 25
c) Gasket 22
d) Loose Bolts 15
e) Flange Misalignment 12
-----------
100

The relative cost of gasket and environmental impact is shown in the graph below:

1 Welded Gasket
High 2 Metal Gasket
3 Kammprofile Gasket
4 Spiral Wound Gasket
5 Corrugated Gasket
6 Soft Material Gasket
1 2
Relative
Cost
2
3 4
5
6

Low Environmental Impact High

What are the statutory regulations/requirements?

The 1990 Clean Air Act Ammendments (CAAA) lists 189 volatile hazardous air
pollutants(VHAP) including 150 volatile organic compounds(VOC).If process contains
5%(or more) by weight of one or more VHAP it comes under CAAA legislation.

In April 1997, CAAA incorporated Quality Improvement Program(QIP) with

earlier Leak Detection and Repair (LDAR) concept.

If greater than 2% of tested valves are leaking (more than 500 ppm), monthly
inspections are required for all the valves or the the facility stays at a quarterly
inspection frequency by committing to a QIP programme.

Further leaking valves must be repaired within 5 days, repaired and retested within 15
days or identified for repair during the next shutdown. Inspection timing intervals can be
reduced to quarterly if leaking valves are less than 2% , semiannually if leaking valves
are less than 1% or annually if less than 0.5% of the total no. of valves.

In a large refinery or petrochemical complex may have more than 100,000

components on various monitoring schedules for compliance with Environmental
Regulations. This is a major task for the maintenance team if implemented in right
spirit.

What is the path forward ?

“Elimination is better than minimization technique”. This requires

“Thinking out of the box ”.

Few examples are given below:

Excess flow valve (spring loaded valve) does not have stem hence there is no
fugitive emissions. The automatic recirculation valve is already being used in
recirculation line of centrifugal pump. Thus wherever possible this valve can be
used instead of control valve.

If the line or equipment is kept under shade , then thermal relief valve for solar
exposure can be eliminated.

If the line is above 8m height then external fire case can be eliminated for the
liquid trapped between two isolation valves.

If possible design the equipment for higher pressure rating and eliminate the
requirement of thermal relief valve.
If possible select a low pressure process so that total emission can be reduced
substantially.

Seal less pump (Peristaltic Pump) is better than pump with seal as far as
fugitive emission is considered. However we need to improve the efficiency of
the pump.

Use of monobloc pump also eliminates seal requirement.

Thus “ inherent environment safe design “ is the key for future survival.

Reference: Sealing Technology by European Sealing Association , Jan 2004