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A blowdown is the purposeful venting of natural gas to the atmosphere during well operations and/or during pipeline operations or maintenance to relieve pressure in the pipe. Here are examples of when a blowdown is used:
An essential factor in the design of blowdown systems is to ensure that the equipment can handle the cold temperatures associated with the rapid depressurization of the gas as it is released to the atmosphere. Depressurization results in a drop in the temperature of the gas due to the Ideal Gas Law. Thus, the equipment must have sufficient resistance to brittle fracture to handle the cold gas temperatures.
Because natural gas is a significant greenhouse gas, the industry is working to reduce emissions of methane into the atmosphere. Some pipelines and distribution companies are developing techniques to reduce the amount of blowdown gas released.