Table of Contents

1.B.2.c - Venting and Flaring

Category Code Method AD EF
1.B.2.c T2 AS CS
Key Category SO₂ NOₓ NH₃ NMVOC CO BC Pb Hg Cd Diox PAH HCB TSP PM₁₀ PM₂ ₅
1.B.2.c -/- -/- - -/- -/- -/- - -/- - - - - -/- -/- -/-

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T = key source by Trend L = key source by Level

Methods
D Default
RA Reference Approach
T1 Tier 1 / Simple Methodology *
T2 Tier 2*
T3 Tier 3 / Detailed Methodology *
C CORINAIR
CS Country Specific
M Model
* as described in the EMEP/CORINAIR Emission Inventory Guidebook - 2007, in the group specific chapters.
AD - Data Source for Activity Data
NS National Statistics
RS Regional Statistics
IS International Statistics
PS Plant Specific data
AS Associations, business organisations
Q specific questionnaires, surveys
EF - Emission Factors
D Default (EMEP Guidebook)
C Confidential
CS Country Specific
PS Plant Specific data

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Pursuant to general requirements of the Technical Instructions on Air Quality Control TA Luft (2002), gases, steam, hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide released from pressure valves and venting equipment must be collected in a gas-collection system. Wherever possible, gases so collected are burned in process combustion. Where such use is not possible, the gases are piped to a flare. Flares used for flaring of such gases must fulfill at least the requirements for flares for combustion of gases from operational disruptions and from safety valves. For refineries and other types of plants in categories 1.B.2, flares are indispensable safety components. In crude-oil refining, excessive pressures can build up in process systems, for various reasons. Such excessive pressures have to be reduced via safety valves, to prevent tanks and pipelines from bursting. Safety valves release relevant products into pipelines that lead to flares. Flares carry out controlled burning of gases released via excessive pressures. When in place, flare-gas recovery systems liquify the majority of such gases and return them to refining processes or to refinery combustion systems. In the process, more than 99 % of the hydrocarbons in the gases are converted to CO₂ and H₂O. When a plant has such systems in operation, its flarehead will seldom show more than a small pilot flame.

Unit 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2018 2019
Flared natural gas millions of m³ 36 33 36 18.7 12.1 10.5 10.6 15.6
Refined crude-oil quantity millions of t 107 96.5 107.6 114.6 95.4 93.4 87.7 87

Flaring takes place in extraction and pumping systems and at refineries. In refineries, flaring operations are subdivided into regular operations and start-up / shut-down operations in connection with disruptions.

Source of emission factor Substance Unit Value
Flaring emissions in natural gas extraction NMVOC kg/ 1000 m³ 0.005
Flaring emissions in natural gas extraction NOₓ kg/ 1000 m³ 1.269
Flaring emissions in natural gas extraction SO₂ kg/ 1000 m³ 8.885
Flaring emissions in natural gas extraction CO kg/ 1000 m³ 0.726
Source of emission factor Substance Unit Value
Flaring emissions at petroleum production facilities NOₓ kg/t 0.008
Flaring emissions at petroleum production facilities SO₂ kg/t 0.010
Flaring emissions at petroleum production facilities CO g/t 0.1
Source of emission factor Substance Unit Value
Flaring emissions at refineries: normal flaring operations NMVOC kg/m³ 0.004
Flaring emissions at refineries: normal flaring operations CO kg/m³ 0.001
Flaring emissions at refineries: normal flaring operations SO₂ kg/m³ 0.003
Flaring emissions at refineries: normal flaring operations NOₓ g/m³ 0.4
Source of emission factor Substance Unit Value
Flaring emissions at refineries: disruptions of flaring operations NMVOC kg/t 0.001
Flaring emissions at refineries: disruptions of flaring operations CO kg/t 0.001
Flaring emissions at refineries: disruptions of flaring operations SO₂ kg/t 0.007
Flaring emissions at refineries: disruptions of flaring operations NOₓ kg/t 0.004

The emission factors have been derived from the 2004 and 2008 emissions declarations Theloke et al. 2013 1). In 2019, they were updated for CH₄, N₂O, CO, NMVOC, NOₓ and SO₂, on the basis of Bender & von Müller, 2019 2). Venting emissions are taken into account in category 1.B.2.b.iii. The SO₂ emissions are obtained from the activity data for the flared natural gas (Table 178) and an emission factor of 0.140 kg / 1,000 m³, a factor which takes account of an average H₂S content of 5 % by volume. The emission factors are determined on the basis of emissions reports, crude-oil-refining capacity and total capacity utilisation at German refineries. The guide for this work consists of the evaluation assessment of Theloke et al. (2013) 3).

Recalculations

Please refer to overarching chapter 1.B - Fugitive Emissions from fossil fuels

Planned improvements

Currently no improvements are planned.

References

1), 3) Theloke, J., Kampffmeyer, T., Kugler, U., Friedrich, R., Schilling, S., Wolf, L., & Springwald, T. (2013). Ermittlung von Emissionsfaktoren und Aktivitätsraten im Bereich IPCC (1996) 1.B.2.a. i-vi - Diffuse Emissionen aus Mineralöl und Mineralölprodukten (Förderkennzeichen 360 16 033). Stuttgart.
2) Bender, M., & von Müller, G. (2019). Konsolidierung der Treibhausgasemissionsberechnungen unter der 2. Verpflichtungsperiode des Kyoto-Protokolls und der neuen Klimaschutz-Berichterstattungs-pflichten an die EU (FKZ 3716 41 107 0).