This innovative development resulted from a customer requirement to overcome design problems in a control linkage. The high heat of these flares was causing bushing lubrication failures and this, in turn, caused the flare control systems to fail. These repeated failures resulted in unacceptable maintenance and replacement costs.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations require that
oil field flares destroy the volatile organic compounds emitted into the
atmosphere in an environmentally friendly manner. To meet these
requirements, oil field operators must use flares at their production
sites that provide a "clean" burn. These flares must operate reliably at
remote sites under all conditions.Given the loss of lubrication within the faulty linkage, it became obvious that flare controls and gas burn-offs were not meeting EPA regulations nor providing clean burns
.
The flare manufacturer tested other bearing materials. None met the challenge until GRAPHALLOY®, the high temperature self-lubricating graphite/metal alloy material was tested, approved and put to work.
Result? Custom produced GRAPHALLOY® Bearings were retrofitted to 1,000s of existing flares and are now standard on the new systems. Today, the bearings operate successfully - no stoppages!
Similar gas burn-off flares are also commonly found at refineries, chemical plants and natural gas processors.
