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Abstract:
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Industrial flaring can result in atmospheric emissions that have significant impact on regional air quality . This study investigates the impact on one -hour average ozone concentrations due to industrial flaring , using the region around Houston , Texas as a case study . Specifically , this study examined the impact on ozone formation of different flare destruction efficiencies . There are some concerns about whether flare destruction efficiency is reduced from design conditions (98 to 99 % destruction ) at low flare flow rates . Some studies have reported very low flares destruction efficiencies under low flow , so it is possible that ozone precursor emissions may be underestimated by an order of magnitude or more at low flow conditions . In this thesis , 100 different destruction efficiency scenarios have been constructed where destruction efficiency depends on the ratio of flare flow rate to the maximum flow rate (turndown ratio ) . The scenarios differ in the assumed destruction efficiency at near zero flow and the turndown ratio at which destruction efficiency returns to the design value . These destruction scenarios are applied to hourly mass flow data for twenty -five flares in Houston , Texas . The scenarios have very different impacts on air quality . The air quality implications of these results for possible modifications to flare operation are explored . |