‘Virtually unusable’ | Existing gas pipeline would need to be extensively refurbished or significantly reduced in capacity to carry hydrogen: study – Watts Up With That?
From NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THAT
By Paul Homewood
h/t Patsy Lacey
A new peer-reviewed study by experts has revealed that existing fossil gas infrastructure such as pipelines and equipment is “virtually unusable” with hydrogen, without major investments or operational changes that significantly reduce the amount of energy delivered to customers.
The paper, titled Assessing the Challenges of Using Natural Gas Systems for Hydrogen, published yesterday (Monday) in the journal Energy Science and Engineering, looked at the risks and potential solutions for using hydrogen in existing distribution and long-distance pipelines, storage facilities and end-uses — as well as reiterating the risks of explosion, fire and asphyxiation from hydrogen leaking from inadequate infrastructure.
Here is the article:
Summary
Hydrogen as an energy carrier is attractive to many stakeholders based on the assumption that the vast global natural gas infrastructure network can be repurposed to transport hydrogen as part of a zero-carbon energy future. As a result, utilities and governments are rapidly advancing pilot efforts to blend low-carbon hydrogen into existing natural gas systems, many with the ultimate goal of transitioning to pure hydrogen. However, hydrogen has fundamentally different physical and chemical properties than natural gas, with major consequences for safety, energy supply, climate, and cost. We assess the suitability of using existing natural gas infrastructure to distribute hydrogen. We summarize the differences between hydrogen and natural gas, review the latest science and technology of each component of the natural gas value chain for hydrogen distribution, and discuss proposed solutions for building an efficient hydrogen value chain. We see that reuse challenges are present at every stage of the value chain. Hydrogen blending avoids many of these challenges, but only results in small reductions in greenhouse gas emissions due to hydrogen’s low volumetric energy density. Furthermore, switching to pure hydrogen is not feasible without significant improvements and substitutions. Even if the technical and economic barriers are overcome, serious safety and environmental risks remain.
https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.1861
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