Estudo, desenvolvimento e implementação de um sensor optoeletrônico baseado em Redes de Bragg aplicado a medidas de vazão em sistemas de alívio (Flare) para a indústria de óleo e gás

Abstract

The oil and gas industry is responsible for a significant share of the greenhouse gas emissions. In the exploration and production of natural gas and oil, the gas which is burned in torches, known as flare or relief system, is a huge source of CO2 emissions. A flare system in oil platform is a combustion stack used to burn o excess gases that cannot be processed and gases that have to be eliminated in emergency shutdown to avoid the risk of explosion. In addition to contributing to global warming and climate change, the burning of natural gas is considered a waste of valuable, nonrenewable energy resource. In this context, the need to quantify the waste of gas volumes correctly and accurate is evident. Due to the importance of this fact, frequent publications of regulatory directives are issued, aiming at improving the measurements of gas flow in flare systems. The gas flow measurement in flares is still considered challenging because the measurement has to attend many specific demands, quite different from any other ow measurement application. The objective of this paper is to present a flow rate sensor based on Fiber Bragg Gratings (FBG), cross-correlation and heatwave travel time techniques. The system was developed with inexpensive components and is little-intrusive, capable of attaining the rangeability of the flare demand and independent of gas composition, pressure and temperature.