Providence Photonics, LLC, Receives EPA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant for Development of Industrial Flare Monitoring Technology

Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- Providence Photonics, an affiliate of Providence, is one of only nine companies awarded a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase II grant to develop technology to monitor combustion efficiency of industrial flares, safety devices that burn off process vent gases in open air. Currently, there is no practical method to monitor how much of the vent gases are actually combusted. The technology being developed by Providence Photonics will fill this void and enable facilities to measure combustion efficiency in real time, optimize its flare operations, minimize emissions, conserve resources, and reduce costs.

“Due to the lack of technology needed to monitor flare performance, current regulations require industry to use indirect measurements as indicators. These indirect parameters can grossly misrepresent actual flare performance, yet facilities still have to incur the high installation and maintenance costs for these inaccurate, indirect measurements. Our product will provide a win-win scenario for both industry and the environment by enabling real-time, direct measurements of the combustion and allowing optimization of flare operations at a much lower cost,” said Yousheng Zeng, Ph.D., CEO, of Providence Photonics.

The Providence Photonics flare monitor utilizes a specially designed, multi-spectral high speed Infrared (IR) imager to measure relative concentrations of unburned fuel and combustion products in every region of the flare flame. These measurements are then used to determine real-time flare combustion efficiency and provide metrics to measure the presence of smoke and the level of steam assistance. With these process parameters, operating conditions can be adjusted to keep the process flare combustion optimized without excessive use of secondary resources, such as axillary fuel gas and steam. Additionally, the flare monitor can be installed several hundred feet away from the flare further reducing the complexity of installation and maintenance costs.

“EPA’s SBIR program encourages companies like Providence Photonics to take its innovative, cutting-edge technology, to the next step toward commercialization,” said April Richards, EPA’s SBIR Program Manager. “They are the companies that continue to support our national efforts toward a greener future, while also strengthening our economy.” 

For additional information on the flare monitoring technology, contact Jon Morris at 225-766-7400 or [email protected].

About Providence and Providence Photonics
Providence, an internationally well-known family of companies, is an engineering and environmental consulting firm offering comprehensive services to industry, government, and private clients. Headquartered in Louisiana, the organization has grown over the past 14 years to include more than 250 professionals working on projects worldwide.

Its affiliate, Providence Photonics, specializes in the development and utilization of advanced technology in the field of optical gas imaging and tackles industry’s most challenging environmental and safety problems. Using advanced computer vision techniques and state-of-the-art Infrared and multi-spectral imagers, Providence Photonics delivers solutions for many applications, including autonomous remote leak detection, leak quantification, and flare combustion efficiency monitoring.