Start up and Commissioning of the Pipeline: An Article

Objective of the commissioning:

 To bring the constructed / installed system to deliver the desired function.

 The Pipeline commissioning means introducing crude/ product/Gas in the pipeline from
originating station, filling the entire length and then start delivering to receipt system.

What we need prior to commissioning?

 The pipeline and associated facilities are completed in all respect

 All Fire and Safety equipments / facilities are tested and commissioned
 Availability of dedicated communication
 Statutory Clearances obtained
 Availability of Product (HSD)/ Crude oil – Not less line-fill
 Required Manpower is placed at all locations
 Availability of water and its disposal plan
 Availability of a dedicated commissioning team

Critical issues in commissioning a Petroleum Pipeline:

 Movement of hydrocarbon in empty pipeline can generate static current.

 Hydrocarbon Vapor mixed with oxygen may lead to explosion.
 There may be formation of Air / Vapor pocket that may get compressed leading to rise in
pressure.
 Air / vapor pocket may explode in receiving tank leading to damage of the tank roof seal.
 Leakage of any hydrocarbon may lead to fire or damage to environment .

Properties of Hydrocarbons:
Flash Point:-The flash point of a volatile liquid is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to
form an ignitable mixture in air.

Vapor Pressure:-The vapor pressure of a liquid is the pressure exerted by its vapor when the liquid
and vapor are in dynamic equilibrium. At a given temperature, a substance with higher vapor
pressure vaporizes more readily than a substance with a lower vapor pressure.
Properties of Petroleum Products and Preferred Liquid for Commissioning:
What is PIG ?
A device that moves through the inside of a pipeline for the purpose of cleaning, dimensioning,
sealing and inspect.
Objective of Pigging:
New Pipeline-

 Remove debris
 Verify ovality, dent etc
 Water filling & dewatering after hydro‐testing
 Sealing of product or water during commissioning
In Service Pipeline

 Maintain line efficiency

 Corrosion control
 Check dents, buckles and any other internal abnormality
 To minimize interface generation between two dissimilar products
 To avoid cross‐contamination
 To evacuate the pipeline

Conventional / Utility Pigs – Differen types:

 Various components are fitted on mandrel.

 It can be uni‐directional or bi‐directional.
 To record bends,dents, ovality, bend radius & angle.

PIG LaunchingReceiving Barrel:

Commissioning of a Gas Pipeline:
A gas pipeline is treated as Tank. However, before taking gas in the Pipeline, it is to be made
moisture and oxygen free.
Commissioning Steps:

 Drying – Purging of super dry air: Compressed Super dry air is purged using air
compressors with accessories viz. Moisture Separator, Oil Separator and Dryer. The air
shall be supplied in the pipeline at (-) 20 deg. C dew point. Super dry air with dew point (-)
20 deg. C will have sufficient capacity to absorb water vapour to the extent of 30 % of the
desired capacity.
 Vacuum Drying: The process utilizes high capacity vacuum to reduce pressure within the
Pipeline to a level from 760 Torr to 40 Torr. At this pressure (40 Torr), any water within the
pipeline will start boiling and vaporizing. Air left inside the Pipeline is subjected to a vacuum
of 40 Torr, the water vapor will expand approx. 18.8 times, which will be displaced using
high capacity vacuum booster pumps (rated capacity 5000 CuM/Hr)When the vacuum of
7.6-10 Torr is achieved, it is confirmed that whole pipeline system has been dried to
required level.
 Nitrogen Purging: At vacuum level 7.6 Torr and dew point (-) 20 deg.C, the oxygen content
inside the Pipeline is 0.20%. To further dilute the oxygen content, nitrogen purging is done
almost 13 times more than pipeline volume. This will reduce oxygen content to 0.015%,
which is considered negligible.
 Now the Pipeline system is ready to receive Gas.
 Fire zone : Wetted areas within a 300 m2 (3200 ft2) plot area shall be considered when a
system’s relief loads are calculated.
 Flare gas flow rate: Tip diameter is decided based on design flowrate.
 Mach number in Stack : 0.5
 Mach number in tip : 0.5 to 0.8 (depends on allowable pressure drop)
 Lower gas velocity (Fig. 5): When gas flow is so low that the local gas velocity is less than
flame velocity, air entrains in to the flare tip leading to burn back / flash back. At very low
gas velocities, flame can travel back through the mixture (flash back) into piping and KOD.
 Fire zone : Wetted areas within a 300 m2 (3200 ft2) plot area shall be considered when a
system’s relief loads are calculated.
 Flare gas flow rate: Tip diameter is decided based on design flowrate.
 Mach number in Stack : 0.5
 Mach number in tip : 0.5 to 0.8 (depends on allowable pressure drop)
 Lower gas velocity (Fig. 5): When gas flow is so low that the local gas velocity is less than
flame velocity, air entrains in to the flare tip leading to burn back / flash back. At very low
gas velocities, flame can travel back through the mixture (flash back) into piping and KOD.
 Liquid seal:
 The liquid seal drum SHALL [PS] be designed as a pressure vessel with a design pressure
of at least 7 barg (100 psig) to maintain containment against an internal deflagration.
 Where there is a risk of an obstruction in the flare due to process flows creating an ice plug
with the liquid seal, alternate sealing fluids such as a glycol/water mixture (60% EG & H2O
freezing point –45 deg C) or other means to prevent freezing SHALL [PS] be implemented.
 For LNG facilities, liquid seal drums SHALL [PS] not be used, since in the event of a cold
release this may form an obstruction in the flare relief system.
Drift distances of burning liquid droplets from an inadequately designed flare system can be
considerably greater than 200 ft (60 m).
If liquid is not drained from flare gas, at gas velocity of 3-4 m/s – liquid droplets of 1000 micron can
be entrained which can cause burning rain in flare.
Liquid droplet size allowed without burning rain

 Unassisted flares : <600 micrometer

 Steam or air assisted : <600 micrometer (less than 1% mass)
 High pressure (if operated at atleast 200 kPag) : <1000 micrometer (less than 1% mass)

Flare KOD:
Design pressure of KODs:

 5 barg (50 psig) when a liquid seal drum is located between the KO drum and flare stack.
 7 barg (100 psig), if there is no liquid seal drum in the system.

For a multi-process unit facility (e.g., refinery) based flare KO drum where it may not be immediately
clear which unit is sending liquid to the flare , liquid space on top of LA (HH) SHALL [PS] be
designed to contain the maximum emergency liquid relief rate from the largest single contingency
for a period of at least 15 minutes for the unit KO drum and at least 20 minutes for the flare KO
drum, without taking credit for pump out capacity.
Flare height (Fig. 7):
Height of the flare is established based on allowable thermal radiation levels. Flare height depends
on available plot, distance of nearby equipments from flare stack.

 More plot area : Low flare stack height

 Less plot area : Higher flare stack height
Fig. 7: Flare Height vs Available Plot Area

Thermal radiation:
Effect of thermal radiation on person at grade or at elevated platform shall be checked by radiation
calculation.
Thermal Radiation affects the human skin (skin burn).
Exposure Times Necessary to Reach the Pain Threshold

 31 kW/m2 – Up to 20 s
 15 kW/m2 – Up to 1 hour
 58 kW/m2 – Continuous

If personnel exposure to radiant heat exceeds the guidelines provided, then shielding should be
considered.
Depending on the location the thermal radiation limit is provided in Fig. 8

 The solar radiation need not be added to calculated thermal radiation values (0.79 to 1.04
kW/m2) from the Flare. For OXY projects, solar radiation to be considered.
 A wind velocity of 10 m/s (22 mph) at the elevation of the flare tip, blowing towards
the receiver, is a typical assumption for flame tilt assessment.
 When two flares are located in close vicinity, combined radiation effects shall be calculated.
Fig. 8: Thermal Radiation Limit

Dispersion: To ensure safe operation during periods when the flame might have extinguished,
concentration of hazardous components should be determined using dispersion analyses,
assuming the flare is functioning as a vent only.

Hydrogen Sulphide Sulphur Dioxide

Level of Concern
(Concentration, Time) (Concentration, Time)
8 Hour TWA (Threshold Limit Value) 5 ppm, 8 hours 2 ppm, 8 hours
15 Minute STEL (Short Term Exposure Limit) 10 ppm, 15 minutes 5 ppm, 15 minutes
Short-term exposure limits (STELs) are set to help prevent effects, such as eye irritation, which may
occur following exposure for a few minutes
Smokeless requirement:
Local rules and regulations shall be followed. Typically flare combustion quality shall meet
Ringelmann Index 1 criteria (Fig. 9).
Smokeless flowrate shall be the normal flow which is expected in day to day operation. Do not
specify design capacity for smokeless operation.
A scale used to define levels of white, gray and black i.e. intensity of smoke

 Ringelmann No. 0 is clear smoke

 Ringelmann No. 5 is 100 percent black.
 Ringelmann No. 1 is equivalent to 20 percent black

Other requirements:

 Noise : For normal flowrate (including starting-up and shutting-down): 85 dB(A) at sterile
radius. For emergency conditions: 115 dB(A) at sterile radius
 Combustion efficiency : greater than 98%
 Number of pilots (Fig. 10): The number of pilots required is a function of the flare burner
diameter. For very small flares, a single pilot will reliably light the flare gas. However, it
should be noted that if only a single pilot is used, a single pilot failure would represent a
complete failure of the ignition system. Recommended to install atleast 2 pilots for tip size
of up to 8″ to increase reliability. As the flare burner diameter increases, the number of
pilots required to reliably light the flare, regardless of wind direction, increases.

Fig. 10: Number of Pilots

Flare gas recovery system Safety considerations:

 Path to flare : PRVs, depressuring systems, etc., shall always have flow paths to the flare
available at all times.
 Reverse flow :Because flare gas recovery systems usually involve compressors that take
their suction directly from the flare header, the potential for reverse flow of air from the flare
into the compressors at low flare gas loads shall be considered.
 Monitor oxygen content in the flare header and provide recovery system trip. Provide low
low pressure trip on the recovery system suction to avoid air ingress. Liquid seal drum (not
practical in AP flare systems)