In Geel, INEOS Aromatics is restarting production in the PTA3 and PX units. This could be accompanied by increased noise levels and possible use of the flare. Of course, we are doing everything we can to keep the inconvenience to a minimum. The start-up is planned from Friday 4 April and will normally be completed by Friday 11 April at the latest.
TEN QUESTIONS ABOUT TORCHES
- What is a torch? A flare is a safety instrument that removes a sudden excess of gas or impurities from the process and burns in an environmentally friendly way.
- So what is a flare? Flare is the English word for torch and means exactly the same thing. The jargon of the chemical industry is very much influenced by English. This is due to the many American companies that built factories in Flanders, especially in the 1960s.
- What is a torch not? A torch is not a chimney from which
smoke escapes. Nor is a torch an incinerator that is used to burn waste. The less the torch is activated, the better. After all, they are usable raw materials that are burned. - How does a torch work? In a chemical factory you often find flammable gases such as hydrocarbons. They are put under pressure in all kinds of barrels. If that pressure becomes too high, for whatever reason, it must be able to go. That is why those barrels are equipped with a safety valve. This is a valve that opens when the pressure in the vessel rises above a certain value. These safety valves are connected to the flare via pipes. In the torch, the flammable gases mix with oxygen. Contact with the pilot, a kind of pilot light at the top of the torch, ignites the mixture. In addition, steam is added to that mixture to improve combustion.
- Why does a torch always burn a little? It is normal that you sometimes see a small pilot light at the top of the torch. This is usually fed by natural gas. Just like with a gas hot water device, this pilot light serves to ignite supplied gases. Torches can take all kinds of shapes. Yet they are all a safety instrument that removes a sudden excess of gas and burns in an environmentally friendly way.
- Why does steam often come out of a torch? In a torch at rest, only the pilot light burns. Yet sometimes you see a white plume of steam at the top
escape. This has to do with the steam that is mixed with the hydrocarbons when the torch is activated. It is the oxygen, contained in the steam, that allows the combustion to take place completely and therefore cleanly. - Are flares harmful to the environment? A correct mixture of steam and the hydrocarbons to be flared gives a clean combustion, a bright flame and no harmful substances in the atmosphere. The residual products are water vapor and carbon dioxide (CO2) and these are the same substances that we exhale.
- How do you get a complete, clean burn with a flare? To achieve complete, clean combustion, the hydrocarbons must be sufficiently mixed with oxygen. This is done by adding steam. A well-functioning torch can be recognized by the bright flame and the lack of a black plume of smoke.
- Why does smoke occasionally come out of a torch? If a flare is activated very suddenly and violently or jerkily, some smoke may come out of a torch for a while. This has to do with a short-term limping of the steam supply. This should be avoided as much as possible.
- Why do flares occasionally make noise? In order for a torch to work properly, steam must be added. It has a pressure of 10 bar. The vibrations and noise occur when that steam is released into the atmosphere. The alternative, not adding steam, is worse. The combustion is then incomplete. A black plume is created with possible soot formation.
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