Executive Summary

The Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) completed a showdown of enclosed combustors installed in difficult methane mitigation applications. SRC visited three sites with existing enclosed combustors treating low-pressure, intermittent, tank and pneumatic vents, measured process parameters into and out of the units, determined their methane destruction efficiencies, and collected qualitative information on the installations. Enclosed combustors mitigate waste methane sources from the oil and gas industry. They help to achieve carbon reduction goals at existing and new, remote upstream oil and gas sites. Low pressure, intermittent, fluctuating sources such as atmospheric tank and pneumatic equipment vents are especially challenging to mitigate. Field testing demonstrates that enclosed combustors are effective at mitigating these sources of methane. Methane destruction efficiencies were calculated from field-testing measurements at three enclosed combustor installations and found to be well above 95% (measured destruction efficiencies were 98 to 100%). Economic analysis indicates that enclosed combustors are an appealing methane abatement option.