The emission of greenhouse gases from flare gas condensates of petroleum units and the climatic index of emberger in Southern Iran

The emission level of the greenhouse gases resulted by the flared gas condensates of petroleum units and subsequent climatic changes determined by the Emberger index in southern Iran in 2019 was investigated. The monthly climatic data and the activities of gas flares in an 11-year period (2008-2018) were obtained from the Iranian National Oil Company and the Iranian Meteorological Bureau. The emission coefficients of the greenhouse gases including CO2, CO, N2O, and CH4 and the values of global warming potential (GWP) were calculated according to the IPCC 2006 manual. A total of 845142.4-ton CO2 per one month was produced by the flares. The monthly GWP ranged from 4 to 217714.8 Ton CO2 e/FU for all gases, and for CO2: 1 kg CO2/kg, N2O: 298 kg CO2/kg, CO: 1.9 kg CO2/kg, and CH4: 25 kg CO2/kg. The Emberger index indicated the climate of the research area during the 11-year period was arid, and in 2011 and 2015, due to relatively higher rain, it was semi-arid. A GWP of 10141708.8 (Ton CO2 e/FU) by the greenhouse gases indicates their significant contribution to the potential warming of the region, and the impact of such gases during the winter increases due to higher humidity.

Automated summary

This study investigated the emission level of greenhouse gases generated by flared gas condensates of petroleum units in southern Iran in 2019, as well as the subsequent climatic changes. The results showed a significant contribution of the greenhouse gases to the potential warming of the region.