CyboSoft, developer of model-free adaptive (MFA) control technology, releases CyboFlare, a patent-pending flare smoke auto-detection software for oil refineries and petrochemical plants. CyboFlare can automatically detect smoking events from live flare videos, send the smoke level data to DCS for alarming and control override to quickly stop the flare from smoking. CyboFlare also has historical data analysis and smoke tracking functions that can help the plant comply with EPA rules. CyboFlare can run live or saved flare videos for multiple flares, analyze flare videos using an AI-based smoke auto-detection engine, and generate the smoke level trends.
The regulations by the US EPA (CFR-60.18) require industrial flares to operate with no visible emissions, except for periods not to exceed a total of five minutes during any two consecutive hours, according to the company. Most U.S. oil refineries and petrochemical plants have reportedly installed video cameras to monitor their flares 24/7 and save videos in a computer system ready for EPA’s audits. Operators are trained to watch live flare videos all day long. When a smoke event occurs, the operator is responsible to catch the event and take immediate actions. Typically, a steam or air valve is opened by the operator through a control override function to add a lot of air or steam to assist flare combustion so that the flare can get out of the smoking condition quickly.
CyboFlare has an online mode that can connect to one or multiple video cameras over a communication network so that live flare videos can be viewed and analyzed by a smoke auto-detection engine in real-time. The smoke conditions are reported using smoke level, a value in the range of 0 to 10, where 0 means no smoke and 10 indicates that the flare has the highest smoking condition. The smoke level can be sent in real-time to the plant DCS to trigger an alarm, and control override actions can be taken automatically by the DCS to take the flare out of smoke quickly. CyboFlare also has a historical mode where the saved Smoke Level data can be reviewed for smoke condition tracking, reporting, and EPA auditing.
