Zeeco offers several air-assisted flares using our advanced designs to promote complete, efficient combustion of heavier waste gases at sites where steam is not available or economical. Air-assisted flares use blowers to inject assist air directly into the waste gas stream as it exits the tip, resulting in smokeless burning and long flare tip life.

AF

When smokeless flaring is desired and neither steam nor assist gas is available, blowers can be used to inject combustion air directly into the waste gas stream as it exits the flare tip. The ZEECO AF air assisted flare tip incorporates a proprietary design that splits the waste gas stream into several smaller streams at the top of the flare to increase the gas / air contact surface area and promote better mixing. This key design feature maximizes the waste gas / assist air mixing while minimizing the amount of forced air required and resultant blower horsepower. Forced air from the blowers and gas from the flare header are routed separately from the base of the flare stack to the top of the flare.

At no point do the air and gas mix prior to leaving the flare tip, ensuring the safety of the system. In addition, with this design concept, any ZEECO AF air assisted flare can operate without the blowers being on and provide for safe disposal of the waste gases in the event of a power outage. The Series AF flare tip produces a superior quality flame, which stays erect during all atmospheric and flow conditions.

Flame lick on the exterior of the flare and burnback inside the flare tip, are virtually eliminated by the forced air from the blowers, which create a strong upward velocity, making the impact from the wind minimal in shaping or moving the flame. The forced air also shortens the flame length and reduces radiation at grade by ensuring a very aerated mixture at the exit of the flare tip.

ADDITIONAL INFO

UFAA

UFAA flare systems are used for applications where smokeless flaring is preferred for normal or low flow operation, and the gases being flared would produce smoke without some type of assist. This flare tip uses a small amount of air from a blower, located at grade, to produce smokeless burning and a clean flame for purge, normal, or low flow rate conditions. This system is typically used when the required smokeless flow rate is small compared to the possible maximum flow rate in the flare system.

Elevated Air Assisted Advantages:

This system is used when other assist mediums, such as steam or assist gas, are either not available, not preferred or not economical.
Air injected by a small blower produces smokeless burning with minimal requirements in horsepower and with minimal impact to the total capital cost of the flare system.
The UFAA system is designed so it can be retrofitted to any existing non-smokeless utility type pipe flare tip assembly to achieve some level of smokeless performance.

HPAAS

Zeeco has exclusive rights to HPAAS flare tip technology. Aramco in Saudi Arabia developed and patented the HPAAS flare tip technology, and Zeeco is the exclusive licensee for the worldwide sale and production of the HPAAS flare tip technology. The HPAAS flare tip assembly is specifically designed for applications where water is scarce or the cost of steam is high. This system produces smokeless burning of saturated hydrocarbon flare gas streams that are the result of oil production, tank vapors, or continuous gas leakage from refining or production processes. Instead of steam, the HPAAS flare tip assembly uses air from a compressor to produce smokeless burning.

HPAAS Advantages

The air requirement is very low, and the use of compressed air means the air supply line on the flare stack is very small
The system is well suited for retrofits to an existing non-smokeless flare system.
Air injection creates smokeless burning, shapes the flare flame in the wind, prevents burn back on the flare tip assembly, and cools the flare tip shell, all resulting in a longer flare tip useful life.