There are two new US refineries in process of approval right now. One is in South Dakota and one is in Arizona. While many people like to speculate on the possible political reasons why it has been 30 years since an oil refinery has been built in the US, the fundamental fact is that it is more cost-efficient for a petroleum company to expand its existing refineries than to invest in the development of a new plant. There are obvious reasons why this is true, and there are ramifications that should be addressed concerning it.
Expanding an existing refinery allows the petroleum company to take full advantage of an existing infrastructure. Adding additional equipment to an existing refinery process is half the task of fabricating a full process with components from scratch. That, and of course the approval process and permitting is easier. The reverse side of this coin, however, is that expansion of a refinery burdens existing refinery components with increased load and exposes it to refining processes with increased complexities. This is inadvisable by the original design of the original components, including the flare system. Because of the part it plays in emergency shutdown procedures, the efficacy of the combustion equipment system is an area of specific concern. Evaluating the existing flare design on site is most important when a refinery is undergoing expansion.
Combustion equipment piping and critical components cannot fail in the event of an industrial incident. If the flare fails due to excessive pressure or a due to a fire on-site, the plant is then in jeopardy and the buildup of combustible waste gasses can be a consequence that will result in plant destruction and lost lives. Therefore, any plant operators looking to expand the life of their refinery, or intending to expand the process and size of the refinery operation, must also completely re-evaluate their flare design for increased flaring expectations and emergency waste gas mitigation.
Flares & Stacks: Combustion Equipment Company Expertise
Employing a combustion equipment company that specializes not only in combustion equipment maintenance but also flare design and fabrication is the first step. Having Flares & Stacks combustion equipment company experts do the on-site evaluation of the existing flare system, and calculating how to evolve the existing flare design into one that will meet the needs of an expanded waste gas flare processing system is the immediate response. Our combustion equipment experts can address what will be the new flaring needs, what the estimated new emergency blowdown will be for a redesigned flare system, and all other calculations. We also are component fabrication experts and can construct the new flare design, and we will test and help maintain the system regularly. We are also able to fabricate whole new flare systems in all manner of flare design types.
Investing in a Brand New Flare Design
Flares & Stacks, Inc combustion equipment company will be in a position to bear the news if our client is going to have to consider installing a completely new flare system to process the increased materials for combustion. Even though some refinery expansion designs are made to avoid having to replace refinery components, there are scenarios where upgrading to a whole new kind of flare design is unavoidable. In situations like this, it is a comfort to know that the Flares & Stacks combustion equipment experts provide the full data and evaluation, so together the refinery operators and company decision makers can make the best expansion plans for the sake of their property, the safety of their employees, and the future profitability of their company.
