Kinetic modeling of a sour gas incinerator: An alternative study to sour gas flaring

The gas flare process is the most common process used to dispose of waste gas generated in oil and gas operations. However, waste gas incineration has been suggested as a better alternative to gas flaring. There have been no published studies completed to assess the emissions associated with waste gas incineration or a comparison to flaring. Thus, this study has attempted to determine the emissions of waste gas incineration, particularly during well testing operations of sour gas, and make a qualitative comparison to flaring.;Thermodynamic properties combined with kinetic data were used to simulate a detailed model that examined the likely routes of formation of several toxic species during sour gas incineration. Reactions involving oxidation products, light hydrocarbons, complex sulphur species, aromatic hydrocarbons, and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons were studied. In addition, the effects of varying inlet oxygen, flow rate, and temperature on species formation in the combustion chamber and incinerator stack were also determined. A qualitative comparison was then performed on the simulated emission results and experimental measurements of emissions from a sour gas flare.