Mathematical modeling for hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines moving towards industrial decarbonization: Economic feasibility and CO2 reduction analysis

Hydrogen blending has proved to be a promising alternative to reduce CO2 emissions in current applications such as the industrial sector in which natural gas is the fuel source since it can mitigate GHG emissions and help to reach nation's goal of decarbonization. This study explored the feasibility of different hydrogen blend compositions going from 1% to 30% hydrogen content (by volume) by computational simulations to determine the best performance of the system considering real operating conditions from Central Plant at UC Irvine. This work also performed an economic analysis as part of the implementation plan. It was determined that a blend of 19% H2 content could be implemented without any major renovation of utility infrastructure based on the operating conditions and change in the properties of the mixture. An addition of 30% H2 can reduce around 11% of the emissions produced by pure natural gas. This is equivalent to 1422 kg of CO2 in 1 h. It is evident that the higher the H2 content, the better the CO2 benefits that would be produced, but for the actual application of higher hydrogen content, there is a need for a better understanding of the effects of hydrogen in the current natural gas pipeline. Based on the CO2 savings, it was determined that a 30% blending of hydrogen may save about 22.2% of the economic cost compared to natural gas. © 2024