JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

PSV AND FLARE SYSTEM

FLARE :: System which disposes off a plants waste gases. Flare Stacks :: Tall structures that route the gas to the atmosphere usually with a flare tip which ignites the gas. Flare Headers :: Pipelines that receive relief valve discharges, vents etc. and route this to a flare stack. Design Aspects 1. Sizing of relief manifold (Flare header) 2. Inlet Piping. 3. Layout. Sizing General steps of a relief manifold sizing check are: 1. Determine the major contingency that can cause the maximum flare loading. 2. Estimate the relieving load of each safety valve. 3. Develop the flare-header pressure profile, which will yield the back-pressures on the safety relief valves. 4. Check adequacy of the flare header size. Adequacy Check for Flare Header. The back pressure allowable on the safety relief valves varies based on the type selected. 1. Conventional == 10% of set pressure (non-fire contingency) 20% (fire contingency.). 2. Balanced bellow == 50% of set pressure. 3. Pilot operated == upto 75% of set pressure. From the flare header pressure profile, it has to be checked whether the back pressure on each safety valve is within the allowable value. Normally the pressure relief valve is conventional due to its low cost. However, an economics has to be worked out between selection of a balanced bellow valve and a higher sized pipeline. This is more relevant for safety valves with low set pressures. Segregation of flare headers as per safety valve set pressure can be more economical, if balanced bellow type valves are not considered. Other than back pressure, the most important aspect is the noise level. Sometimes eventhough the back pressures are within the required valvue, due to high velocities the noise level becomes unbearable. Hence to curtail noise generation in flare header, the Mach No. is usually limited to 0.7. Inlet Piping Preferred mounting in on top of the vessel with a nozzle that has a well rounded entrance. -1-

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PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

Relief on the overhead vapor line shall be mounted with the flow through the run of any tee fitting. The least preferred relief valve mounting on an overhead vapor line is with the flow through the reducing branch of any tee fitting. When relief valves are mounted on overhead vapor lines, special consideration shall be given to the piping configuration to provide minimum input flow resistance to the relief valve. (Flow rate through the vapor line during an upset condition is much greater than normal process flow.) Sometimes interlocking systems for relief valves and block valves are specified. The minimum pipe size to the inlet of the relief valve must be same as the inlet diameter of the safety valve. The pressure drop in the inlet pipe should be less than 3%. High inlet pipe pressure drop can cause chattering. Normally block valves at the inlet of safety valve to be avoided. If provided, the valve should have full pipe-area opening and should be locked in open position. For corrosive fluids, safety valve can be protected by a rupture disk before the safety valve inlet. Setting Relief valve elevation and location. Availability of platform. Elevation that will permit free draining into the relief header. A location that will provide sufficient flexibility for stress requirements. After investigation and with the approval of process engineer, if a relief valve must be at lower elevation than the header, the tailpipe low point shall be drained. If valve is not located adjacent to line or equipment being relieved, an increase in line size to the valve is normally required with a swage connection at the relief valve inlet. Layout Must be in Upright position. Accessible from grade, floor, platform or vessel top platform. Relief valves with a center line elevation over 4 m above high point of finished surface shall be accessible from platform or permanent ladder. PSV on pulsating line should be flanged and located min from line. Screwed PSV required, use extra strong pipe nipples between valve and header. Keep this nipple short. Flare system must be self draining from safety valve outlet to the flare knock out drum. Relief valve outlets to flare headers must also be self-draining. This means relief valve shall be located higher than the flare header.

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JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

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When it is not possible to keep relief valve outlets self-draining to flare header, a manual drain valve at the outlet of safety outlet shall be provided.

Safety valve outlet line should always connect the flare header from top to avoid condensate backing up. Never route liquid reliefs to a flare header. There are to be routed to a nearby drain funnel or if nothing is available, run PSV discharge line to within 150 mm of Grade. PSV Vent to Atmosphere Hydrocarbon vapors are sometimes vented to atmosphere if located very high. The outlet pipe should terminate a minimum 3 M above any platform within 12 M radius. The relief valve must be accessible from a platform. A weep hole at low point of outlet to be provided to avoid accumulation of condensate. Supports and guides shall be provided for tailpipes if: 1. Required by stress to overcome thrust effect of discharging medium. 2. Attached tailpipe exceeds allowable free standing height. Allowable free standing height shall be determined as follows: [ thru 12 pipe: 0.55m X Nominal pipe size = Height (in Meters). Example: 4pipe: 0.55 m X 4 = 2.2m.], [14 and above: 0.50m X Nominal pipe size = Height in meters. Heavier wall pipe or reinforcing pads shall be used if required by stress conditions. When indicated on PID, the relief valves discharging to atmosphere shall comply with the following minimum requirements to protect personnel and equipment. 1. The discharge pipe shall be vertical. -3-

JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

2. The vent pipe at least 2 m long. 3. Terminate at least 25m above grade. 4. 3 m above the tallest accessible structure within 8m radius. 5. 30m horizontally from furnaces, boilers, air intakes etc. The End of discharge pipe shall be cut off squarely and rounded off to minimize the risk of ignition by static electricity. Pipe shall be directed away from windows, building roof overhangs, or overhead obstructions. Drain pipe if required for safety and indicated on PID otherwise a weep hole required at low point.

Use of simulator in flare header sizing. INPLANT simulator used for analyzing various pipe networks. Can be used for designing/rating total flare lines/header. Flow rates from different safety valves can be fixed and back pressures calculated. Flow rates and desired back pressures can be given to calculate pipe sizes. Safety valves sizes can be obtained. THERMAL RELIEF VALVES

As per process requirements. -4-

JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

Provided between block valves on liquid lines directly exposed to the sun as approved by process engineer. Should discharge back into the process line or a storage system. If discharged liquid cannot be accepted in either of these outlets, may discharged in open drainage system as approved process engineering. TYPES OF PSV

Conventional Relief Valve

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PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

Balanced Belows PSV.

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PIPING GUIDE

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Pilot Operated Valve.

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JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

Typical Flare System

Relief Valves Headers Relief valve tailpipe and header configuration shall be based on the outlet temperatures of the relief valves as stated in the relief valve specification with consideration given to the actual heat loss or pickup from the atmosphere and any process consideration. Normal relief header location in the piperack is on the side where the majority of the equipment is located. If possible the header shall be located on the pipe supports with other piping. If an additional elevation is required, the header should normally be located above the pipe support columns. Pipe anchors and guides shall be provided as required to control thermal movements and forces as well as dynamic forces. If expansion loops are required, these shall be in the horizontal plane. Expansion bellows shall not be used without approval from ADNOC. Elevation of relief header is set by the required elevation of the blow down drum or road clearances whichever is greater. Headers shall be sloped as following: Unit branch headers shall be 1:200. For main headers 1:500. Direction changes necessitating elevational changes shall be so arranged so that the header drops continuously in the direction of the blow down drum (No pockets). Flat turns shall be used when practical. Header reducers shall be bottom flat.

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JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

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JITENDRA SURVE

PIPING GUIDE

02/04/03

Unit Branch header to main Header Connections. Connecting branches shall, if possible, connect to the top of the header or in any case, drain into the headers. The branches must be connected in such a way that there are no welds in the lower third of the circumference of the header. A 90 degree angle connection to the main header is acceptable based on the piping not exceeding 0.7 Mach.Process engineering shall define which lines meet the 0.7 MACH requirement. A 45 degree lateral connection to the main header shall be used for either two phase or liquid relief. Consideration should be given to manifolding several relief valve disharges into a common sub-header. Block Valves Valve stem of the isolating block valves should be mounted in a horizontal position, should the stem fracture. (Although the remote possibililty, the gate valve will stay open). Per the PID, where the one operating relief valve and a position for one spare is shown, the spare relief valve will be located in the warehouse. A dummy piece will be installed in place of the spare relief valve per PID. Block valves to be provided only when specified by process engineer and shown on PID. Block valves must be locked open. Bleed valve shall be installed between upstream block valve and relief valve. Downstream block valve shall be installed with the stem in the horizontal position. Should the stem fail, the gate valve will stay open. Omit valve when discharging to atmosphere.

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