Flare combustion index in lieu of combustion zone net heating value

Flares are commonly used at industrial facilities (e.g., oil and gas extraction and production sites, gas processing plants, oil refineries, and petrochemical manufacturing plants) to safely dispose of process waste gases. Waste gases may be produced due to process upset or because they are unrecoverable for technical or economic reasons. When waste gases are combustible, sending them to a flare is a safe way to dispose of them. Environmental and safety regulations prohibit discharge of such waste gases into the atmosphere without being treated by a flare because of the potential fire hazard and the negative effects on human health and the environment. Flares are designed to destroy the waste gases by combusting them into harmless or less harmful gases (e.g., hydrocarbons being combusted into water vapor and carbon dioxide). When waste gases reach the flare tip, a pilot flame positioned at the flare tip ignites the gases. With oxygen provided from ambient air, the waste gases are combusted and destroyed.