Examining And Maintaining Petrochemical Flares
Refinery and petroleum plant managers normally keep flare maintenance on a routine schedule to meet the operational life expectancies of flare tips. But even so, come maintenance time, all components of the flare stack are at risk of wanting repairs or replacement, and only a comprehensive flare inspection will tell if there is a critical issue that really must be addressed. If there are parts seriously damaged, and if these items are left without being repaired, it may lead to emergency shut down or worse.
The difficulty for the refinery operators is the best way to maintain the flare stack while keeping it operational to the best degree practical. Because flare stacks operate at such intensely hot temperatures, inspecting flare stack parts completely can require a shut down period, and that may be very of great cost to the company. So that the question then forms: How can we provide a substantial visual inspection of the flare and the stack, while the flare stack is operating, and in such a way as to keep the inspection team safe on the ground and away from the high heat of the flare?
As with almost all industrial problems, the solution factors down to technology. And at the front line of state-of-the-art flare stack inspection technology is the remote controlled helicopter (given the shorthand of “rc helicopters”). When in the hands of an expert of rc aerial photography helicopters, and someone who also has experience handling these rc helicopters in highly turbulent conditions as one would expect to be produced by a high-temperature flare, the remotely-operated helicopter allows for safe aerial inspections while producing clear, high-resolution footage.
Checking guy wires involves a different technology, since the integrity of guy wires can’t be determined at the surface. Cable issues customarily develops in the inner strands where moisture and rust amass. To address this inspection problem, Flares and Stacks, Inc. has developed a robotic guy wire climbing, cleaning, lubricating, and examination machine, and to date looks to be the first such device available in the flare stack inspection industry.
Taking advantage of the most current flare inspection technologies, such as rc aerial photography, means plant operators can ascertain which parts must be replaced, what’s their remaining operational expectancy, and develop a budget for flare maintenance repairs. Best of all, they can oftentimes do all of this without losing the valuable time involved in a flare inspection shutdown. This, after all , is the absolute final analysis for any refinery company.
Katherine Parker is the flare inspection information specialist for Flares and Stacks, Inc. Proper flare maintenance is a time and productivity saving measure for petrochemical companies, and this artricle explains how it is most efficiently accomplished.