Callidus Technologies inaugurates flare testing facility
Honeywell UOP’s Callidus Technologies has inaugurated a new facility for the testing of gas combustion flares at its manufacturing facility in Beggs, Oklahoma.
The new flare field was built to develop the next generation of low-emission, open-flame equipment and flame sensing technologies. Roughly half the size of a football field, and surrounded on three sides by a 45-foot steel containment wall, the facility includes visual field and infrared cameras to monitor flame condition and quality, and extractive gas plume sampling equipment to validate performance criteria.
“This is a full-scale outdoor laboratory that replicates real-world operating conditions and that allows us to conduct scientific analysis of flares and other open flame equipment at a level that was never was possible before,” said Neil Eckersley, general manager of Honeywell UOP’s Callidus Technologies business. “The facility was engineered to replicate the environment of a typical customer, so we know exactly how the new products we develop will perform when they enter service.”
The new facility uses DCS controls from Honeywell Process Solutions to blend various fuels that simulate any composition of gases that a customer may need to dispose of, quickly, safely and efficiently. In addition to new product research and development, the flare field is used to conduct quality testing of a wide range of equipment that is manufactured at the Beggs facility.
Included among that equipment is Callidus’ new Galaxy multi-point ground flare, which provides greater flexibility for a refiner and a lower profile than a traditional tower-style pipe flare. The Galaxy product line is designed for operation in a wide variety of refinery and petrochemical plant applications worldwide.
Ground flares are an increasingly favored option because their low profile minimizes the visibility of the combustion process. The multi-point design breaks the gas into many small flames, which improves air accessibility, produces almost no smoke and contains thermal radiation within the containment wall. As a result, refineries and petrochemical plants can operate more harmoniously in or near populated areas.
“That this new flare field testing facility will speed the development of many even more innovative flare designs, including multi-point ground flares,” Eckersley said. “Flares are an increasingly crucial part of refineries and plants, helping them run more safely and reliably.”
Callidus Technologies is part of Honeywell UOP, a provider of technologies for the global oil and gas industry. Callidus flares are used in hydrocarbon and petrochemical processing, oil and gas production and the steel and carbon black industries.
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