Thermo-economic analysis of blending hydrogen into natural gas pipeline with gaseous inhibitors for sustainable hydrogen transportation
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Hydrogen transportation through a new pipeline poses significant economic barriers and blending hydrogen into existing natural gas (NG) pipelines offers promising alternative. However, there are several challenges associated with hydrogen and adding the NG/H2 mixtures with gaseous inhibitors (GIs) can overcome these challenges. A comprehensive thermo-economic analysis (TEA) of repurposing existing NG pipelines with GIs has not been conducted in literature. Therefore, this study evaluates the impacts of NG/H2 mixtures with varying concentration of four GIs (CO, O2, SO2 and C2H4). It examines the thermo-physical and thermo-economic properties with and without modifications in the existing infrastructure. A gas pipeline model is developed to simulate the thermo-physical properties including density, dynamic viscosity, Wobbe index, energy density, compression power. The findings suggest that the 5% CO and 2% C2H4 outperforms other GIs in maintaining desired properties, ensuring compatibility with existing infrastructure. Based on these findings, the scenarios for TEA are evaluated with and without modifications. As a result, SEC ranges 0.02 to 0.03 kWh//kg-H2 and LCOH ranges from 0.157 to 1.88 cents/kg-H2 for 5% CO and 2% C2H4 for a pressure over 95 bars with major modifications. These findings offer valuable insights for the transition towards sustainable hydrogen transportation in existing infrastructure.
Source: Chemical Engineering Science
Institution: Qatar University
Language: English
Subfield: Ocean Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,050
Funders: Qatar University, Qatar National Library
Award: G534204346
OpenAlex ID: W4409237063