As refer to mud gas separator or poor boy degasser, you may heard of “Flare stack”.
A flare stack (alternatively known as gas flare ) is a vertical vent pipe used in oil and gas drilling sites. The pipe diameter of flare stack is usually 8” for GN ZYQ series poor boy degasser.
flare stack
The function of flare stacks
They are used to eliminate waste gas invaded in the drilling mud, otherwise it will lead to “blowout”, “kick”. They also act as safety systems for non-waste gas and is released via pressure relief valve when needed to ease the strain on equipment. They protect gas processing equipments from being over pressured. Also in case of an emergency situation, the flare system helps burn out the total reserve gas.
How flare stacks work
Whenever the poor boy degasser are over-pressured, the pressure relief valves automatically releases gases which are routed through large piping runs called flare headers to the flare stacks. The released gases are burned as they exit the flare stacks. The size and brightness of the resulting flame depends upon the flammable material’s flow rate in terms of joules per hour.
In order to keep the flare system functional, a small amount of gas is continuously burned, like a pilot light, so that the system is always ready for its primary purpose as an over-pressure safety system. The continuous gas source also helps diluted mixtures achieve complete combustion. Enclosed ground flares are engineered to eliminate smoke, and contain the flame within the stack.
Environmental impacts
The flaring and venting of associated gas from oil drilling sites is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The amount of such emissions has declined from a peak of about 110×106 metric tons in the 1970s to 40×106 metric tons in 2005, a decrease of about 64 percent.
Flare stack is connected the poor boy degasser and flare ignition device for oil field drilling site, so it is an important parts for poor boy degasser. GN produce flare stack/gas flare etc. safety equipments, for more information, pls check GN website.