Why can't the gas that burns off as flares on oil refineries be used as an energy source?

Answer 1

cos its on fire

Answer 2

Seems wasteful, doesn't it? I suspect that the amount of gas is not great enough to run a power plant, and it isn't in constant supply anyway. The refineries I have seen in the Los Angeles area only occasionally flare off gas, and when they do it isn't much. Actually, now days they seem to do it a lot less. Maybe they are capturing it for local use now. I'll have to ask my uncle, who works at a refinery.

Answer 3

The very reason for the flare is safety. The flare is designed such that when it is burning things are OK with the process and it is monitored at all times. If you ever go into a control room among all of the process control consoles are TV screens of the flare(s). It is the only show ever on. When it goes out there is a big bad problem and emergency action would have to be taken immediately. If you attempt to harness that heat the operators would not be able to see the flame and it would defeat the very purpose of the flare.

Answer 4

The second answer is mostly right. However years ago all sour gas was flared off, now most of it is recovered and the sulfer dioxide removed. Sulfer dioxide itself would be a good fuel if it was not so terribly poisonous, so it either gets flared off or reduced to sulfer or gypsum. The Sulfer piles at the tarsands in Alberta are huge. They have started using it for making fertilizer.
Other gases go up the flare stack as emergency dumps or purges (impressive to watch).

Answer 5

The answer is in your question! well almost!
The gas is already burnt off, that means, it has no more energy to be a source again!

Answer 6

I always wondered! But BRUZERS answer seems to make a lot of sense. I have rated it. There you go, don't say I never do anything for you!