Controlled propane burn lights up Libertyville
Even in the bright sunlight, the sight of intense orange flames shooting 10 feet or more in the air can be a head-turner for drivers in the area of Peterson Road and Route 45 in Libertyville.
“We shut them off at night. It draws way too much attention,” said Matt Brickman, an employee with G an D Petroleum LLC of Janesville, Wisconsin, which is managing a controlled burn of propane for North Shore Gas. The utility company has operated a tank farm there since the mid-1960s and is in the process of retiring and removing several of the striking white cylindrical tanks lined up in horizontal rows.
All the propane that can be used has been extracted. But before the tanks can be taken away, any residual fuel has to be emptied, and the safest way to do that is a controlled burn, according to the company.
Residual propane is burned off through six 15-foot-tall flare pipes. At times, a flame could reach 40 to 50 feet high and 15 feet wide and potentially be visible for miles, which is why the company notified the village, surrounding businesses and railroads that pass nearby. The process began Tuesday and is expected to continue for up to two weeks, Monday through Saturday, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Brickman said the controlled burning of vapors eliminates pressure inside the tanks so they can be dismantled. The flare is being done in the safest way possible, according to the company, and neither residents nor commuters should be alarmed at the flames. Natural gas service to customers will not be affected.
“It's a standard process of how this is done. What's being burned off is just the vapors in the tank. It has to be taken out, and this is the best way to do it,” Brickman said.
“A lot of attention comes with it,” he added.
The work is accompanied by a distinct 'whooshing' every few seconds as air compressors are tested. A dull roar in the background is the sound of fuel being burned.
North Shore serves about 159,000 customers in 54 communities, including most of Lake County.
The propane farm was built in the mid-1960s and expanded in the early '70s. During times of peak demand, propane from the Libertyville facility is vaporized and injected into the natural gas system.
“When it was built, it was a very rural area surrounded by farms. That facility was built to add reliability to a growing system, and it's been used off and on ever since,” said North Shore spokeswoman Jennifer Block.
Last winter, the facility was instrumental to North Shore operations due to extremely high demand and restrictions placed on the natural gas supply by interstate pipelines, she added.
Block declined to discuss details regarding the number, size or volume of the tanks but said a little more than half of them would be removed. Details of the planned improvements were not released.
“We're making way for new investment that will enhance safety and reliability of the (natural gas) system,” Block said.
Libertyville Fire Chief Rich Carani said there has not been a call to the tank farm in his 25-plus years with the department.