Robotic ignition systems for oil fields

Abstract

In the oil extraction industry, igniting the flare stacks is an essential operation. Oil sites have two kinds of flares, ground flares and flares that installed on towers. The ignition systems generate electrical sparks to burn the gases blowing out of the flares. Due to the permanent high operating temperature and the need for special thermal isolation, classical igniters have low reliability and high cost. In this work, two novel ignition systems have been implemented, the first is the robotic ignition system for ground flares, it utilises a mobile robot which moves toward the flare, avoiding the obstacles in its way and stops after detecting the gas, then it starts igniting the flare before heading to a safe point with no gas and low temperature. The second solution is the automated ignition system to light up the flares on the towers, which is a car that moves on a rail vertically, and begins igniting once it arrives at the tip of the tower, then it comes back to its starting point. As the igniters in both suggested systems are movable, so the system will be exposed to the heat generated by the flame within a very short time, this new feature increases the reliability of the igniter and reduces the complexity and the cost of the system. Keywords—igniters, microcontrollers, mobile robots, stack flares