<title>FTIS remote sensing of flare emissions</title>

Abstract

Increasing regulatory standards for the limitation of greenhouse gas and other pollutants emissions from industrial facilities require new environmental control strategies and innovative and cost-effective measurements techniques. Elevated flare stacks present a difficult measurement challenge, because it is extremely difficult to determine concentrations in the post-combustion gas of operational flares by sampling techniques. A remote sensing measurement system has to be used, therefore. Fourier transform IR spectroscopy measurements were realized using a mobile environmental laboratory which is equipped with a high resolution K300 spectrometer. A multi-component air pollution software MAPS was used to determine CO<SUB>2</SUB>, CH<SUB>4</SUB>, CO and NO concentrations. It is based on radiative transfer line-by-line calculations and least-square fit procedures. The paper focuses on the results of FTIS flare emission measurements at natural gas production facilities. Different types of flares have been investigated under varying operational conditions. Emission rates and combustion efficiencies are calculated which indicate that the environmental impact of methane emissions from flares is rather small.