Estimating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydrogen-Blended Natural Gas Networks

Roberto Paglini (), Francesco Demetrio Minuto and Andrea Lanzini
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Roberto Paglini: Energy Center Lab, Polytechnic of Turin, Via Paolo Borsellino 38/16, 10152 Turin, Italy
Francesco Demetrio Minuto: Energy Center Lab, Polytechnic of Turin, Via Paolo Borsellino 38/16, 10152 Turin, Italy
Andrea Lanzini: Energy Center Lab, Polytechnic of Turin, Via Paolo Borsellino 38/16, 10152 Turin, Italy

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-20

Abstract: Methane is a significant contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Blending hydrogen with natural gas in existing networks presents a promising strategy to reduce these emissions and support the transition to a carbon-neutral energy system. However, hydrogen’s potential for atmospheric release raises safety and environmental concerns, necessitating an assessment of its impact on methane emissions and leakage behavior. This study introduces a methodology for estimating how fugitive emissions change when a natural gas network is shifted to a 10% hydrogen blend by combining analytical flowrate models with data from sampled leaks across a natural gas network. The methodology involves developing conversion factors based on existing methane emission rates to predict corresponding hydrogen emissions across different sections of the network, including mainlines, service lines, and facilities. Our findings reveal that while the overall volumetric emission rates increase by 5.67% on the mainlines and 3.04% on the service lines, primarily due to hydrogen’s lower density, methane emissions decrease by 5.95% on the mainlines and 8.28% on the service lines. However, when considering the impact of a 10% hydrogen blend on the Global Warming Potential, the net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is 5.37% for the mainlines and 7.72% for the service lines. This work bridges the gap between research on hydrogen leakage and network readiness, which traditionally focuses on safety, and environmental sustainability studies on methane emission.

Keywords: hydrogen emissions; hydrogen blends; hydrogen–methane blending; gaseous fuel leakage; natural gas pipeline; greenhouse gas emissions (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: 2024
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