Societe Nationale Elf Aquitaine (production)

Jean Bruneau

Flavien Lazarre

Safety device for igniting fuel gas discharged by the orifice of a flare stack, incorporating a pilot light whose nozzle issues into the vicinity of the orifice of the flare, said pilot light which is equipped with an ignition device is connected by a supply pipe to an auxiliary fuel gas source, said supply pipe being provided with a valve having an opening position and a closing position which are controlled by a mechanism connected by a first servo-system to the detector detecting the admission of the gas to be burned into the flare stack such that the detection of a flow of gas into said stack controls the opening position of the valve and the detection of the stoppage of this flow controls the closing position of the valve, wherein the ignition means of the pilot light comprises a refractory body located in the extension of the nozzle of the pilot light, said solid body being provided with heating means for raising it and maintaining it at a temperature of at least 800.degree. C. and constituting a thermal energy store such that the reduction of its surface temperature due to a stoppage of the heating means is below 50.degree. C. per minute in the range 700.degree. to 1000.degree. C. and wherein the mechanism is connected by a second servo-system to a detector detecting the temperature of the solid body in such a way that the detection of a drop in said temperature to below 800.degree. C. controls the opening position of the valve.

Growing community of inventors

St-Germain-en-Laye, France

Jean Bruneau