Vented methane to CO₂ equivalent
A vented or fugitive gas volume converted to tonnes of methane and tonnes of CO₂ equivalent on both the 20- and 100-year horizons, with an OGMP 2.0 reporting level attached.
HSE & emissions
Mixture LEL — Le Chatelier
The lower and upper explosive limits of a multi-component gas, and where a measured atmosphere sits against them.
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How it is calculated
- Le Chatelier: 1/LEL_mixture = Σ (yᵢ / LELᵢ), with the same form for the upper limit.
- Mole fractions are normalised over the combustible components only, so inerts in the stream dilute the atmosphere rather than counting as zero-LEL fuel.
- Component limits are from NFPA 497 at 25 °C and one atmosphere.
- The measured atmosphere is expressed as a percentage of the mixture LEL, which is what a detector reads.
Where this stops being true
Le Chatelier is an approximation that holds well for alkane mixtures at ambient conditions and less well for anything else — hydrogen and hydrogen sulphide both depart from it. Temperature and pressure both widen the flammable range, and the published limits here are at 25 °C and one atmosphere; a hot vessel or a pressurised enclosure is a different problem. Nothing computed here substitutes for a calibrated detector, and a detector calibrated on methane does not read percent LEL correctly in a propane atmosphere. Entry decisions are made on instruments and a permit, never on arithmetic.
Related tools
Flaring intensity & combustion emissions
Flare volume per barrel, the CO₂ from combustion and the methane that slips through unburned — with the combustion efficiency as the dial that matters.