Systems and methods for multi-variable flare control include receiving, at a flare controller, a plurality of flare characteristics from a flare monitor. The flare monitor may be an optical flare monitor. The plurality of flare characteristics may include, but are not limited to, Combustion Efficiency (CE), Smoke Index (SI), Flame Stability (FS), Flame Footprint (FF), and Heat Release (HR). The flare controller analyzes a plurality of the flare characteristics and outputs a control signal to control an operating condition of the flare, such as an amount of assist media being fed to the flare. Iterations of the control signal may be bounded by a step value defining a maximum increase or decrease in the control value as compared to the previous control value.

Systems and methods include a computer-implemented method for monitoring emissions in real time. Flaring emissions are determined in real time for a flare stack based on: 1) a flaring volume in conjunction with heat and material balances of systems that discharge to a flare system, and 2) a composition of each relief source that discharges to the flare system. A molar balance around the flare stack is performed in real time using the flaring emissions to determine the emissions.

Systems and methods include a computer-implemented method for monitoring emissions in real time. Flaring emissions are determined in real time for a flare stack based on: 1) a flaring volume in conjunction with heat and material balances of systems that discharge to a flare system, and 2) a composition of each relief source that discharges to the flare system. A molar balance around the flare stack is performed in real time using the flaring emissions to determine the emissions.

Disclosed herein are embodiments of a flare control method and a flare apparatus for automatically controlling, in real-time, the flow of one or more of fuel, steam, and air to a flare. The disclosed embodiments advantageously allow for automated control over a wide spectrum of operating conditions, including emergency operations, and planned operations such as startup and shutdown.

At least some embodiments a flare includes a gasket sized and shaped to prevent gas-leakage at the gas slot when pressure of gas entering the flare is below a designed minimum opening pressure that causes the flare bowl to move away from the tip housing. At least some embodiments of a flare includes a diaphragm spring coupled with the flare bowl to assist in movement of the flare bowl with respect to the tip housing to vary an opening dimension of a gas-exit slot defined by the flare bowl and the tip housing.

At least some embodiments a flare includes a gasket sized and shaped to prevent gas-leakage at the gas slot when pressure of gas entering the flare is below a designed minimum opening pressure that causes the flare bowl to move away from the tip housing. At least some embodiments of a flare includes a diaphragm spring coupled with the flare bowl to assist in movement of the flare bowl with respect to the tip housing to vary an opening dimension of a gas-exit slot defined by the flare bowl and the tip housing.

A production stream is received from a well formed in a subterranean formation. The production stream includes a gaseous portion and a liquid portion. The liquid portion has a base sediment and water (BS&W) percentage. At least a portion of the gaseous portion of the production stream is combusted to produce a flaring byproduct stream. The flaring byproduct stream is flowed through a coiled tubing to the well. The BS&W percentage of the liquid portion of the production stream is measured. The flow of the flaring byproduct stream to the well is decreased in response to the BS&W percentage reaching a threshold BS&W percentage.

A production stream is received from a well formed in a subterranean formation. The production stream includes a gaseous portion and a liquid portion. The liquid portion has a base sediment and water (BS&W) percentage. At least a portion of the gaseous portion of the production stream is combusted to produce a flaring byproduct stream. The flaring byproduct stream is flowed through a coiled tubing to the well. The BS&W percentage of the liquid portion of the production stream is measured. The flow of the flaring byproduct stream to the well is decreased in response to the BS&W percentage reaching a threshold BS&W percentage.

The present invention presents a method of assessing the quality of the burning of the gases in the flare and adjusting the vapor flow rate in a continuous way and with flexibility to integrate with different instrumentation topologies of the flare control system. The state of the flare flame is identified from an image set of the flame, classifying it into one of four: flame with excess vapor, optimized flame, flame with soot or images with insufficient information to classify them as one of the previous states of the flare flame. In addition, it is further able to quantify the height of the flame. The invention comprises the following components: flare, camera, image stream manager, edge computer, data historian, alert manager, information visualization panels, distributed digital control system, DDCS, and cloud storage and computing.

The present invention presents a method of assessing the quality of the burning of the gases in the flare and adjusting the vapor flow rate in a continuous way and with flexibility to integrate with different instrumentation topologies of the flare control system. The state of the flare flame is identified from an image set of the flame, classifying it into one of four: flame with excess vapor, optimized flame, flame with soot or images with insufficient information to classify them as one of the previous states of the flare flame. In addition, it is further able to quantify the height of the flame. The invention comprises the following components: flare, camera, image stream manager, edge computer, data historian, alert manager, information visualization panels, distributed digital control system, DDCS, and cloud storage and computing.