Pilot assemblies and methods for enclosed ground flares and elevated flare stacks
AssigneeSurefire Pilotless Burner Systems LLC
InventorRonnie Cook
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Pilot assemblies comprising a fire path tubing and pilot tubing in fluid communication through a pilot nozzle for burning waste gases in enclosed ground flares and elevated flare stacks are disclosed. A plurality of flame segments is generated using a hot surface ignition element in the fire path tubing and ignites fuel/air mixture flowing through the pilot tubing into a pilot nozzle to produce a reliable pilot flame. Methods for operating the pilot assemblies are disclosed.
Claims31
A pilot assembly for igniting waste gases in enclosed ground flares, the pilot assembly comprising:
- a fire path tubing having an inlet end and an outlet end and having a fuel inlet disposed at the inlet end;
- a pilot tubing having an inlet end and an outlet end and having a fuel inlet disposed at the inlet end, wherein each of the fire path tubing and pilot tubing are characterized by a bend such that the inlet end and outlet end of each tubing are not disposed along a straight line;
- a pilot nozzle configured to receive the pilot tubing at a first nozzle inlet and the fire path tubing at a second nozzle inlet;
- and,
- a hot surface igniter (HSI) element disposed at a distance away from the nozzle and in fluid communication with the fire path tubing, wherein the tip of the HSI element is offset such that the tip does not extend inside the fire path tubing into a flow path of fuel/air mixture, and wherein a plurality of flame segments generated in the fire path tubing by igniting a first premixed fuel/air mixture by the HSI element travel through the fire path tubing and ignites a second premixed fuel/air mixture entering the nozzle through the pilot tubing to create a pilot flame for igniting waste gases.
A pilot assembly for igniting waste gases in an elevated flare stack, the pilot assembly comprising:
- a fire path tubing;
- a pilot tubing;
- a pilot nozzle configured to receive the pilot tubing at a first nozzle inlet and the fire path tubing at a second nozzle inlet, wherein the first and second nozzle inlets are disposed substantially orthogonal to each other;
- and,
- a hot surface igniter (HSD) element disposed at a distance below the second nozzle inlet in fluid communication with the fire path tubing, wherein the tip of the HSI element is offset such that the tip of the HSI element does not extend inside the fire path tubing into a flow path of fuel/air mixture, and wherein the HSI element offset is dependent on the length of the pilot assembly, wherein a plurality of flame segments generated in the fire path tubing by igniting a first premixed fuel/air mixture by the HSI element travel up the fire path tubing and ignites a second premixed fuel/air mixture entering the nozzle through the pilot tubing to create a pilot flame for igniting waste gases flowing through the elevated flare stack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.