Flare emissions from unconventional oil and gas extraction and processing: An NSERC Strategic Network for cleaner fossil fuels

燃烧产生的排放是一个重大的全球性问题。卫星数据显示，全球每年的燃烧量超过1400亿立方米，其中大部分与非常规油气资源的开发有关。除了是气候强迫CO2排放的一个重要来源外，燃烧也是黑碳和其他空气有毒物质的一个重要来源。近几年来，加拿大的燃烧急剧上升，这与水力压裂致密油和致密气开发的快速扩张直接相关。在这些地点，废气排放问题最为严重，返排作业期间的燃烧可能会燃烧作为注入的压裂液和/或返回的地层液体产生的夹带气溶胶物质。准确预测火炬排放的数据和模型严重缺乏，因此目前依赖于计算污染物清单和指导法规的排放因子存在相关性问题。该NSERC战略网络的总体目标是提供对火炬产生的污染物排放的定量了解，这对于实现基于科学的法规、准确的污染物清单、对气候强迫和健康影响的了解以及使化石燃料更清洁的工程缓解策略至关重要。该网络整合了一个多样化的研究人员群体，能够通过雄心勃勃的，协作的，大规模的实验，将显着推进该领域，同时在这个重要领域培养重要的新的HQP，以满足这些研究挑战。该网络与NSERC在自然资源和能源方面的优先目标领域完全一致，这些领域专注于非常规石油和天然气开采以及优化页岩和致密气资源清洁开采的战略。能源部门是加拿大经济的主导力量，随着加拿大（和全球）生产转向开采页岩和致密气资源，拟议的研究对于实现负责任的发展和减轻污染至关重要。通过获得更清洁的化石燃料，整个社会将成为这项工作的最终受益者，从而最终实现非常规天然气资源的低碳潜力。

Emissions from flaring are a significant global concern. Satellite data suggest worldwide flared volumesexceed 140 billion m3 annually, where much of it is associated with development of unconventional oil andgas resources. In addition to being an important source of climate forcing CO2 emissions, flaring is implicatedas a critical source of black carbon and other air toxic species. Flaring in Canada has risen sharply in recentyears, directly related to a rapid expansion in hydrofractured tight oil and tight gas developments. Issues offlare emissions are most acute at these sites, where flaring during flowback operations has potential to burnentrained aerosol species originating as injected fracturing fluids and/or returning formation liquids. Data andmodels to accurately predict flare emissions are critically lacking such that current emission factors relied uponto calculate pollutant inventories and guide regulation are questionably relevant. The overarching objective ofthis NSERC Strategic Network is to provide a quantitative understanding of flare generated pollutant emissionscritical to enabling science-based regulations, accurate pollutant inventories, understanding of climate forcingand health implications, and engineered mitigation strategies to make fossil fuels cleaner. The Networkintegrates a diverse group of researchers capable of meeting these research challenges through ambitious,collaborative, large-scale experiments that will significantly advance the field, while training vital new HQP inthis important area. The Network aligns perfectly with NSERC's priority target areas in Natural Resources andEnergy, which are focused on Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction and strategies to optimize the cleanexploitation of shale and tight gas resources. The energy sector is a dominant force in the Canadian economy,and as Canadian (and global) production shifts to exploiting shale and tight gas resources, the proposedresearch is critical for enabling responsible development and mitigating pollution. Society as a whole will bethe ultimate beneficiary of this work through access to cleaner fossil fuels, where the low-carbon potential ofunconventional gas resources is finally achieved.