An Economic, Environmental and Safety Analysis of Using Hydrogen Enriched Natural Gas (HENG) in Industrial Facilities

Nicholas Preston, Azadeh Maroufmashat, Hassan Riaz, Sami Barbouti, Ushnik Mukherjee, Peter Tang, Javan Wang, Ali Elkamel and Michael Fowler
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Nicholas Preston: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Azadeh Maroufmashat: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Hassan Riaz: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Sami Barbouti: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Ushnik Mukherjee: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Peter Tang: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Javan Wang: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Ali Elkamel: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
Michael Fowler: Chemical Engineering Department, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: The enrichment of natural gas with hydrogen has been identified as a promising pathway for power-to-gas technology with the potential to reduce emissions while achieving feasible return on investment. The evolving regulatory market in the province of Ontario motivates the analysis of business cases for hydrogen on the industrial microgrid scale. This paper aims to investigate the financial and environmental returns associated with producing and storing electrolytic hydrogen for injection into the natural gas feed of a manufacturer’s combined heat and power plants (CHPs). A mathematical methodology was developed for investigating the optimal operation of the integrated system (power-to-gas along with the current system) by considering hydrogen-enriched natural gas. The result of this simulation is an operation plan that delivers optimal economics and an estimate of greenhouse gas emissions. The simulation was implemented across an entire year for each combination of generation price limit and storage coefficient. Because the provincial grid imposes a lesser carbon footprint than that of a pure natural gas turbine, any offset of natural gas by hydrogen reduces the carbon intensity of the system. From an environmental perspective, the amount of carbon abated by the model fell within a range of 3000 ton CO 2 /year. From a policy perspective, this suggests that a minimum feasible carbon price of $60/ton CO 2e must be set by applicable regulatory bodies. Lastly, a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis was performed for the proposed system to validate the safety of the design.

Keywords: hydrogen enriched natural gas; combined heat and power unit (CHPs); power-to-gas; hydrogen economy; failure modes and effects analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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