Phase II Non-Routine Flaring Modeling Tool Development

Brian Zelt, Zelt PSI
GL 09-9186-50

Improving air emissions estimation methodologies. Environment assessments are a key component to new and renewing facility approvals and licenses. A significant component of the assessment is for companies to demonstrate compliance with regulations and requirements relating to air emissions and ambient air quality. Companies use dispersion modeling as a method to predict facilities’ compliance with the regulations. History shows that the dispersion modelling predictions are often much higher than measured concentrations. As such, industry would like to ground-truth or validate dispersion modeling software used for facility approvals.

CALPUFF is a software program universally accepted by the provincial regulators (AENV and ERCB) and industry for modelling the dispersion of SO2 from UOG facilities. Both industry and regulators would like to see the CALPUFF model to incorporate unique Alberta-specific algorithms around routine and non-routine flaring.

ABflare (spreadsheet and examples and userguide)
AERflare (spreadsheet and examples and userguide)

2012 Presentation