HQP Archives - The Energy and Emissions Research Lab

EERL Congratulates Parvin Mehr for her successful M.A.Sc. thesis defence

brigidbedard — Fri, 13 Nov 2020 15:16:41 +0000

�Ӱ�ԭ�� University Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering graduate student Parvin Mehr has successfully defended her thesis entitled, Experimental Modelling of Black Carbon Emissions from Gas Flares in the Oil and Gas Sector. Parvin’s research was focused on predicting black carbon (BC) emissions from flares through an improved understanding of the coupled influence of aerodynamic and fuel chemistry effects. Through extensive experiments on vertical flames at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University’s Flare Lab, Parvin was able to develop new, phenomenological correlations for flare BC emissions that could be explained in terms of macro flame dynamics. Two distinct flame regions were identified, with independent correlations for each. For the “transition-buoyant regime”, BC emission rates were scaled with the flare volume flow rate and the mean carbon number of the fuel. For the “transition-shear regime”, soot emissions were scaled by the effective mixing rate in the flame, with higher heating value emerging as a better parameter to scale different fuel compositions. These models were able to predict soot emission rates within ±35% over the range of conditions for methane-dominated flare gas mixtures presented in this thesis.

This represents a significant milestone accomplishment as part of FlareNet’s overall research objectives to develop predictive models for flare emissions that can be used to improve emissions inventories, standards, and regulations, while supporting mitigation. The importance of this work was recognized by industry and government representatives at the recent PTAC Methane Emissions Reduction Forum, held on Nov 4-5, 2020, where Parvin and recent Ph.D. graduate Bradley Conrad teamed up to win first place in the student research poster competition with a contribution entitled, “Predicting Black Carbon Emissions from Unassisted Vertical Stack Flares”. All of EERL’s and FlareNet’s research posters for the conference can be found . The entire FlareNet team and the Energy Emissions Research (EERL) at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University are proud to congratulate Parvin on her research success!

Congratulations to Bradley Conrad for successfully defending his Ph.D. Thesis and being nominated for a Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement

brigidbedard — Tue, 06 Oct 2020 14:38:06 +0000

EERL is pleased to congratulate Bradley Conrad, who successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis, Quantification of Black Carbon Emissions from Gas Flaring and Standardization of the Sky-LOSA Measurement Technique, on September 11^th, 2020. Bradley’s outstanding research has been central to FlareNet’s Theme 5 objectives and was nominated by his thesis examination committee for the prestigious Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University.

Theme 5 of the FlareNet Network aims to develop novel technology for field measurements and apply these to conduct quantitative in situ field measurements of flare black carbon (BC) emissions rates as a function of flare gas flow rates and composition. Until recently, there were no viable approaches for directly measuring BC emission rates from open flares in situ. This has changed with the emergence of a new measurement technology known as sky-LOSA (Line-Of-Sight Attenuation using sky-light), which enables remote optical measurement of soot concentration and emission rates in flare plumes.

Bradley’s Ph.D. research has:

Strengthened the sky-LOSA techniques for quantifying black carbon emissions;
Refined the algorithm of sky-LOSA, which included quantifying beam steering and multiple scattering;
Quantified variability in mass absorption cross-section (MAC) of emitted black carbon from flames and created a new model to predict its variability;
Standardized the sky-LOSA data acquisition; and
Created a new open-source software utility that can guide users of the sky-LOSA in minimizing measurement uncertainty in the field

Bradley has also been the lead author on eight publications during his Ph.D. studies in leading academic journals in addition to numerous conference presentations. Links to these articles may be found on the publications section of the EERL website.

The FlareNet Network and the Energy Emissions Research (EERL) at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University congratulates Dr. Conrad on his exceptional research achievements.

Congratulations to FlareNet’s Latest Graduates, Whose Research Aim’s to Provide More Accurate Quantitative Measurement Techniques

brigidbedard — Sat, 18 May 2019 15:13:21 +0000

The FlareNet Network has had two more students graduate with a Master’s of Applied Science (M.A.Sc.) in Mechanical Engineering at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University. Congratulations to Jasvardan Sethi and Scott Seymour and their supervisor Professor Matthew Johnson.

Scott Seymour, Flaring Lab, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University

Scott Seymour successfully defended his thesis (May 2^nd, 2019), entitled, Spectroscopic Measurements of Path-Averaged Species Correlations in Turbulent Flare Plumes. Scott’s research examined the strength of species correlation in turbulent flare plumes in an effort to understand potential accuracy limitations of different field measurement approaches. Many such
approaches assume that different species in the turbulent flare plume are always present in fixed, steady ratios. Scott’s direct optical measurements of instantaneous soot and water vapour in flare plumes demonstrates this common assumption is not correct. Results of Scott’s work lay a path to defining different measurement protocols and minimum sampling times to minimize bias and uncertainty and ensure short bursts of high emissions are captured by the measurement system.

Jasvardan Sethi, Flaring Lab, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University

Jasvardan Sethi successfully defended his thesis (May 7th, 2019) entitled, Application of an Optical Diagnostic (LII/ELS) to Measure Soot Formation Trends within Turbulent Buoyant Non-Premixed Flames. Jasvardan’s research used a laser based diagnostic (combined LII/ELS) system to examine the effects of in-flow turbulence on combustion in flare type flames by measuring soot formation trends with high spatial accuracy in a flame. Flare combustion at the exit of a long stack is categorized as turbulent non-premixed type combustion. Incomplete combustion of the flared gas results in emission of soot black carbon (a fine particulate matter), which is a known climate change forcer and a health hazard. Jasvardan’s research aims to provide further information to better link in-flow turbulence to the formation of soot in these flare-type flames. This type of research will help create better-informed emission models, which will help government regulatory bodies in managing emissions from flaring.