Pressure Relieving and Flaring Systems in Oil Refineries According to API 520 & 521

DESIGNED FOR

Process, operation, safety, plant, engineers, HSE supervisors & operating personnel responsible for processing, operating and maintaining relief and flare systems in oil refineries.

YOU WILL LEARN

• Purposes of relief and flare systems and their importance in safe operations

• Causes of overpressure and the ways to control/mitigate (API 520)

• Defining the relief cases considering operations, upset/abnormal conditions and emergency situations (such as fire).

• Commonly used pressure relieving devices and how to select and size these devices according to API 520.

• Determining set/relieving pressures to meet operational, safety and Code requirements API

• Operational considerations of maintenance, testing, certification, and disposal of fluids

• Designing and operating relief and flare header systems considering fluid characteristics, service conditions, volumes, gas dispersion and radiation.

• Defining requirements, selecting and sizing the components of a relief/flare system such as knockout drums, flare stack and tips, pilot and ignition systems (API 520 & API 521).

ABOUT THE COURSE

This is an intensive 5-day course providing a comprehensive overview of relief and flare systems for oil refinery facilities. The course begins with the need for pressure control/overpressure protection, continues with the key engineering and design aspects including Code considerations (API 50 & API 521), and concludes with selecting and defining the components of a relief and flare system. The material of the course is applicable to onshore field production facilities, pipelines, gas plants, terminals, and offshore production facilities.

COURSE CONTENT

• Purposes and overview of typical relief and flare systems and key components

• Safety implications and the causes of overpressure

• Codes and standards (API & ASME) as well as good practices typical in oil refineries.

• Overpressure protection philosophy including source isolation and relief

• Determination of relief requirements and defining set point pressures

• Types and applications of common relief devices

• Blow-down/depressurizing – purpose & design/operational considerations

Design and specification considerations for relief valves and header systems including fluid characteristics, services conditions, material selection, and header sizing.

Environmental considerations including flare versus vent decisions, emissions, noise and radiation levels.

• Radiation calculations and the impact of flare tip design

• Selection and sizing of key components such as knockout and seal drums, vent/flare stack, vent/flare tips, and flare ignition systems
• Defining need and quantity of purge gas

• Use of environmental friendly strategies such as flare gas recovery, smokeless flaring, and purge gas conservation.
• Operational and troubleshooting tips

• Case Study (I): Flare System

• Case Study (II): Relief System