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- In an oil and gas production, flash-gas is a spontaneous vapor that is produced from the heating or depressurization of the extracted oil mixture during different phases of production. Flash evaporation, or flashing, is the process of volatile components suddenly vaporizing from their liquid state. This often happens during the transportation of petroleum products through pipelines and into vessels, such as when the stream from a common separation unit flows into an on-site atmospheric storage tank. Vessels that are used to intentionally “flash” a mixture of gas and saturated liquids are aptly named "flash drums." A type of vapor-liquid separator. A venting apparatus is used in these vessels to prevent damage due to increasing pressure, extreme cases of this are referred to as boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE). The composition of the gas that is flashed is dependent on many factors, therefore it is suggested that all extractions be analyzed to determine accurate compositional values. As a generality, this definition applies to the nature of flashing hydrocarbons (HC) that make up oil and natural gas, “If the saturated liquid is a multi-component liquid (for example, a mixture of propane, isobutane and normal butane), the flashed vapor is richer in the more volatile components than is the remaining liquid". Although the flashed portion will be primarily components with higher volatilities (lighter HC), heavier HC will also flash into the vapor phase to some extent. Composition of flash gas is highly dependent on temperature and pressure and can therefore be manipulated using these control variables to become a usable resource (natural gas, natural gas liquids (NGL’s), alternative fuels, etc.) if proper infrastructure and sponsorship is in place. The production of flash-gas and its release into the atmosphere, via venting and improper handling during production, is of concern to environmental efforts due to the presence of Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAP), Greenhouse Gases (GHG), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which have been suggested to have harmful long-term environmental impacts. Various efforts by organizations around the world have been made to develop appropriate guidelines for handling flash gas as well as tools for evaluating flash emissions through model based calculations. (en)
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