Gas flare

A gas flare, alternatively known as a flare stack, flare boom, ground flare, or flare pit, is a gas <a href="/facts/Combustion/ohQoWj8z">combustion</a> device used in places such as <a href="/facts/Oil_refinery/yeaW0UMv">petroleum refineries</a>, <a href="/facts/Chemical_plant/swCB2mEH">chemical plants</a> and <a href="/facts/Natural_gas_processing/8Xt3LdnQ">natural gas processing</a> plants, oil or gas extraction sites having <a href="/facts/Oil_well/mNNRJmuE">oil wells</a>, <a href="/facts/Gas_well/mNNRJmuE">gas wells</a>, <a href="/facts/Drilling_rig/o4esL5fh">offshore oil and gas rigs</a> and <a href="/facts/Landfill/7K4efGgz">landfills</a>.
In industrial plants, flare stacks are primarily used for burning off <a href="/facts/Flammability/1QexTQ4T">flammable</a> gas released by <a href="/facts/Safety_valve/2QQS5g4X">safety valves</a> during unplanned overpressuring of plant equipment. During plant or partial plant startups and shutdowns, they are also often used for the planned combustion of gases over relatively short periods.
At oil and gas extraction sites, gas flares are similarly used for a variety of startup, maintenance, testing, safety, and emergency purposes. In a practice known as <a href="/facts/Routine_flaring/owaRJRML">production flaring</a>, they may also be used to dispose of large amounts of unwanted <a href="/facts/Associated_petroleum_gas/o8Hzy735">associated petroleum gas</a>, possibly throughout the life of an oil well.

Gas flare open-in-new

Gas flare