Equipment installed in HP Flare Header

[kkimic]

Dear all,

I am working on a gas plant and for the first time I have seen an air cooler installed in the HP Flare Header, upstream of the KO Drum. This is in the P&IDs, not in the actual plant. Is this normal, and what it is more important, it is allowable?

The relieving fluids will be very cold but I have never seen this requirement for the relieving fluids to be heated up by the ambient...

Anyone has any experience on this?

Thanks

S

 

[maddocks]

Have never seen this and would really try to discourage this - the chance for blockage or some other event would cause me some concerns. In any case, relieving flows are often so large with velocities approaching mach .7, that sizing of this cooler would be quite bizarre. There's nothing wrong with hot blowdowns - design the piping and equipment properly with thermal stress calc's and expansion loops as necessary and eliminate the cooler. I wouldn't stamp these drawings!

 

[MortenA]

So what you call an air cooler is in fact an air heater?

Are you sure its actually a unit operation or has somebody just tried to increase the heat tranfer by improving the outside heat transfer? Maybe the equipment is not needed in the safety critical case but only for operational? I think we need some more details.

Best regards

Morten

 

[123engr]

Are they cooling the relief vapour that would be burned in the flare? I suggest the design should be reviewed.

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