2/24/2016 Page 1Refinery Sector Rule - Flares

Introduction to Pressure-Assisted Flaring – The New AMEL Framework

Troy M BoleyVice PresidentSage Environmental Consulting, LPAtlanta (Kennesaw), GA

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Overview1. Flare Waiver’s - Historical Review

• Who

• Where

• When

• How Managed

2. EPA’s new Refinery “Framework” - AMEL3. Lingering Questions

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Some limited permitting, and file search history…Timing Circa 1994 Circa 1997 Circa 2006 Circa 2006 Circa

2012Circa 2012 Circa 2013

Huntsman (Port

Neches, TX)

Mobil Chemical (Beaumont, TX Polyethylene)

BP (Texas City, TX

RF)

Dow TX(UCAR and

Seadrift Pipeline)

Marathon (Garyville, LA RF)

Williams Olefins

(Giesmar, LA

Ethylene)

Dow (Freeport, TX)

Flare Description

"CallidusTechnology

steam-assisted

flare, operated in a ground flare configuration-15 burners"

Pressure-assisted flare

Air-assisted flare @ 119 ft/s

(LRGO burners) tested at JZ - Flares

5&6

5 pressure-assisted flares (4 stationary

and 1 portable) tested at JZ

LRGO flares

tested at JZ by PFTIR

"Low profile multi-head"

(1) Propane Dehydrogenation

Unit 1 PDH-1 ground flare and (2) Light

Hydrocarbons Plant LHC-9 ground flare

Some sites requested AMPs, Waivers, Equivalency Demonstrations …What rules apply during “normal operation”, and what applies during an “upset”?

Yes, there are more!

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Some regulatory relief? Only in California…

Some, but not all, pressure-assisted flare tip designs use the Coanda effect.

Yes, there are more!

San Joaquin Valley AQMD, CaliforniaRULE 4311 FLARES (Adopted June 20, 2002; Amended June 15, 2006; Amended June 18, 2009)

5.6 Open flares (air-assisted, steam-assisted, or non-assisted) in which the flare gas pressure is less than 5 psig shall be operated in such a manner that meets the provisions of 40 CFR 60.18. The requirements of this section shall not apply to Coanda effect flares.

This was USEPA SIP approved!

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Who may have a ground flare? How is it being operated? Waivers?Products1 Applicant Submittal Date Permit Issued? Gr Flare in

Permit? Gr Fl as normal?2

E Axiall Lake Charles (LA) (not submitted) No TBDE PE Odebrecht (WV) (not submitted) No TBDE PE Shell Monaca (PN) (not submitted) No TBDE PE D Westlake Calvert City (KN) 8/1/2012 Yes NoE Equistar Corpus 3/6/2013 Yes NoE Ineos Chocolate Bayou 8/1/2011 Yes NoE Equistar Channelview 9/29/2011 Yes NoE Equistar La Porte 9/27/2011 Yes NoE BASF La Porte 3/11/2011 Yes NoE PE D Formosa Point Comfort 12/10/2012 No Yes TBDE PE D Sasol Lake Charles 4/30/2013 No Yes YesE D Williams Geismar 12/12/2012 Yes Yes YesE PE D CP Chem Cedar Bayou 12/11/2011 Yes Yes No5

E PE D NGL CP Chem Sweeney 4/20/2012 Yes Yes E Yes8, PE No9

E PE D Dow Freeport 12/3/2012 Yes Yes No11

E Oxychem Ingleside 12/28/2012 No Yes TBDE PE XOM 5/22/2012 Yes Yes NoE BASF Port Arthur 3/4/2011 Yes Yes No13

NGL Enterprise Mont Belvieu 12/19/2011 Yes Yes YesNGL Occidental of Elk (CA) 10/21/2010 Yes Yes No16

NGL Chevron Bakersfield (CA) 11/7/2013 Yes Yes No18

PE D Hunstman Port Neches (no current project) Yes No19

R Shell Deer Park (no current project) Yes YesR Valero Corpus (no current project) Yes Yes

R Shell Norco Chemcial, M-Plant (no current project) Yes YesR Marathon Garyville (no current project) Yes Consent DecreeR BP Texas City (no current project) Yes No

List is informative, not complete!At least 18 “ground flares”

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Lot’s of complexity.

Little regulatory clarity. Limited consistency.States differ from Feds, and both need to ‘approve”.

Bottom line? Need some resolution!

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Maybe…..some clarity has arrived….40 CFR 63.670(r) Alternative means of emission limitationCompany may request approval for site-specific operating limits that shall apply specifically to a single selected flare. Site-specific operating limits include, but not limited to, alternative threshold values for the

• Flare tip velocity

• Combustion zone operating limits

• Dilution operating limits for flare with perimeter assist air.

Must demonstrate that the subject flare achieves 96.5% CE (or 98% DRE) using the site-specific operating limits based on a performance evaluation.

FINAL - Refinery Sector Rule, December 1, 2015

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AMEL Test PlanOperator shall prepare and submit for approval a site-specific test plan.The design and dimensions of the flare, flare type, and description of gas being flared, including

• Quantity of gas flared,

• Frequency of flaring events (if periodic),

• Expected net heating value of flare vent gas,

• Minimum total steam assist rate

The operating conditions

• vent gas compositions, (i.e.: the operating “scenarios”)

• vent gas flow rates and assist flow rates,

• during normal operations and the operating conditions for the test period

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PFTIR flare testing - dealt with through spatial and temporal averaging

PFTIR instrument with 12” collection telescope

Ø Trying to “cherry-pick” high efficiency regions would be misleading.Ø Testing on the “actual” flare? Or the flare tip “design”?Ø Composition! What scenario is being tested?

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AMEL Test Plan

The minimum number and length of test runs and range of operating values to be evaluated during the performance evaluation.

• A sufficient number of test runs shall be conducted to identify the point at which the combustion/destruction efficiency of the flare deteriorates.

Final Report to EPA administrator for review.

Acceptance by EPA requires Notice in the Federal Register, and public comment period.

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Lingering questions…• AMEL Framework is only “approved” for the petroleum refinery sector, and those refineries

that are subject to the MACT.• However, the only 2 approved AMELs today are for chemical plants.

• How to reconcile Startup Shutdown, Maintenance, and Malfunction events? Maybe.

• Must all AMEL requests involve flare “testing”? Maybe.

• Retro-Active AMELs? Should we do one, or not? Maybe.

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Troy BoleySage Environmental ConsultingKennesaw (Atlanta) Georgiatroy@sageenvironmental.comOffice 678-492-7426Cell 770-883-7082

Questions?

March 2011 – Valero Corpus Christi – power outage, total flare engagement event.