Blending method and technology for hydrogen.pptx

Concept, technology & limitations of hydrogen blending is discussed

1. BLENDING OF HYDROGEN WITH NATURAL GAS – OPPORTUNITY AND ISSUES

2. Why blending of Hydrogen ? Heat is the largest energy end use. As per IEA reports on ‘Fuels and Technologies’, providing heating for homes, industry and other applications accounts for around half of total global energy consumption. Hydrogen energy is an expected solution for reducing society’s dependence on fossil fuels heating. However, using pure hydrogen for distributed heating has number of issues relating to transportation and end use. An incremental blending of hydrogen with natural gas can provide a seamless transition and minimize disruptions in power and heating source distribution to the public.

3. Why blending of Hydrogen ? It integrates concentrations of hydrogen (from low-carbon energy sources) into existing natural gas pipelines in order to reduce the carbon intensity of the methane. Blending hydrogen into the existing natural gas infrastructure will enable the end user with less modification for a green usage. Academic institutions, industry, and governments globally, are supporting research, development and deployment of hydrogen blending projects such as HyDeploy , GRHYD, THyGA , HyBlend etc. Successful commercialization of hydrogen blending requires both scientific advances and favorable techno-economic analysis.

4. Let see the project objectives and outcome

5. HyDeploy project HyDeploy is a groundbreaking £22.5 million Ofgem Network Innovation Competition project to establish the potential for blending up to 20% of green hydrogen into the normal gas supply to reduce CO2 emissions. ITM Power supplied the electrolyser system at the heart of the first phase of the project. This first phase was based at Keele University in Staffordshire. Keele has a private gas network, of which 100 homes and 30 university faculty buildings received the blended gas. The trial was designed to determine the level of hydrogen which could be used by gas consumers safely and with no changes to existing domestic appliances . The first phase successfully ended in March 2021 with robust evidence gathered across both the distribution network and end users to demonstrate the safe use of green hydrogen blends within existing infrastructure.

6. HyDeploy project The second phase, which ITM Power was not involved with, launched in August 2021 using bottled hydrogen for a larger demonstration on a public network in Winlaton , Gateshead. The project ran for almost twelve months and concluded in summer 2022. The HyDeploy project has made significant progress in the technical and regulatory requirements to enable the introduction of a green hydrogen blend within the UK gas distribution network.

7. GRHYD project - France Launched in 2014, GRHYD is a project to inject hydrogen into the territory’s natural gas distribution network in order to meet the needs of the residents of the new neighborhood of Cappelle -la-Grand in terms of heating, hot water and cooking. Approximately 100 homes are supplied with a mixture of hydrogen and natural gas, in variable proportions of hydrogen and less than 20% by volume. The first two years were devoted to a phase of technical and sociological studies, followed by a five-year demonstration phase of two uses of hydrogen injection: transport and housing. The experimentation ended in 2020.

8. THyGA project - France Launched in 2020, THyGA (Testing Hydrogen admixture for Gas Applications) is a project to enable the wide adoption of hydrogen and natural gas (H2/NG) blends by closing knowledge gaps regarding technical impacts on residential and commercial gas appliances. Project duration is till 31.12.2022. Location 93211 Saint-Denis La Plaine, France Test up to 100 residential and commercial gas appliances (hobs, boilers, CHP, Heat pumps, etc.) and how 200 Million of European gas appliances will react to various H2 concentration scenarios. Benchmark and develop pre-certification protocols (test gases) for different level of H2 in natural gas for coming integration in standardization, these protocols will be validated through tests

9. HyBlend project - USA The HyBlend team comprises six national laboratories―NREL, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL)―and more than 20 participants from industry and academia. Several projects worldwide are demonstrating blends with hydrogen concentrations as high as 20%, but the long-term impact of hydrogen on materials and equipment is not well understood, which makes it challenging for utilities and industry to plan around blending at a large scale. The HyBlend cooperation was initiated by the DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) in 2021

10. HyBlend project - USA The HyBlend project is organized into three research tasks, each led by national laboratories with existing research and capabilities in that area: Hydrogen compatibility of piping and pipelines : SNL and PNNL will conduct evaluations to estimate the life of metal and polymer piping and pipeline materials (e.g., steel and polyethylene) when blends are used. This information will be incorporated into a publicly available model that can be used to estimate pipeline life given key engineering assumptions. Life-cycle analysis : ANL will analyze the life-cycle emissions of technologies using hydrogen and natural gas blends, as well as alternative pathways such as synthetic natural gas. Techno-economic analysis : NREL will quantify the costs and opportunities for hydrogen production and blending within the natural gas network, as well as alternative pathways such as synthetic natural gas. Hydrogen Materials Compatibility Consortium (H-Mat), has over 20 partners in industry and academia researching hydrogen compatibility with metals and polymers. To analyze pipeline materials’ vulnerability to hydrogen impacts, the HyBlend team will test them in varied quantities of hydrogen at pressures up to 100 bar.

11. Few more projects

12. WindGas Falkenhagen - Germany The demonstration project located in Falkenhagen Germany is a P2G (Power to Gas) project in Europe operating a 2 MW alkaline electrolyzer . The hydrogen output of this facility is 360 m 3 /h utilizing excess energy generated from the wind turbines in the neighborhood. Hydrogen was injected into the local ONTRAS natural gas grid in August 2013. In 2017, a methanation plant was added to the facility of Falkenhagen . The aim was to cease coal-fired electricity generation by 2038 and lay the foundation for Germany to reach carbon neutrality by 2050

13. HypSA -Hydrogen Blending Projects in Australia In May 2021, the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG) in its biggest hydrogen production site started blending 5% hydrogen into its existing gas network which supplies more than 700 homes. The project known as “Hydrogen Park South Australia ( HypSA )” aims to meet the net zero carbon target by 2050. Currently, the project is moving to phase 3, in which households will receive the 5% hydrogen blended natural gas delivered by tube trailers. In the HyP Gladstone project, which is currently under development, 10% hydrogen blend trials will be conducted to supply around 800 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Gladstone located in central Queensland Jemena, Australia’s largest P2G facility generates hydrogen from a 500 kW electrolyzer powered by solar and wind energy. The goal of the project was to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen energy applications in current gas distribution and transmission networks in order to support future investments in renewable energy.

14. Hydrogen Blending Projects in Canada In the Fort Saskatchewan Blending Project (2020), 5% hydrogen was proposed to be blended into a section of Fort Saskatchewan’s residential natural gas network, affecting about 2000 customers. The owner of Canadian Utilities, ATCO, will conduct feasibility and safety tests on the new and existing pipelines for delivering the hydrogen blended gas to customers. Customer site inspections are ongoing, while blended gas is expected to be introduced to the customers in the third quarter of 2022. In November 2020, Enbridge Gas and Cummins announced a new hydrogen blending project in the Markham area of Ontario. The project aims to serve 3600 customers in Markham, supplying them 2% hydrogen blended natural gas.

15. Facts about blending The truth about hydrogen is that although its energy content per unit mass is really good, its energy content per unit volume is poor. It is 3.2 to 3.6 times less energy per unit volume of gas which means it needs to add 3.2 to 3.6 times as much volume of gas in order to get the same amount of heat. Therefore at constant pressure the mixed output will have less energy. Otherwise at the injector of the burner hydrogen at 3 time pressure needs to be mixed for keeping the energy content same. It requires modification of existing boiler or turbine. At room temperature, hydrogen atoms can be absorbed by carbon steel alloys. The absorbed hydrogen may be present either as atomic or molecular form. Given enough time, the hydrogen diffuses to the metal grain boundaries and forms bubbles at the metal grain boundaries. Hydrogen embrittlement is a metal’s loss of ductility and reduction of load bearing capability due to the absorption of hydrogen atoms or molecules by the metal. The result of hydrogen embrittlement is that components crack and fracture.

16. Impact on combustion For combustion equipment designed to operate with standard gaseous fuels (natural gas, liquified propane, and manufactured gas), hydrogen presents numerous challenges as a fuel when blended, including its faster flame speed, increased flame temperature, reduced volumetric density, wider flammability range, reduced flame luminosity etc. If two fuels have identical Wobbe Indices then for given pressure and valve settings the energy output will also be identical. Typically variations of up to 5% are allowed If VC is the higher heating value, or calorific value, and GS is the specific gravity, the Wobbe Index, IW, is defined as The Wobbe Index is used to compare the combustion energy output of different composition fuel gases in an appliance (fire, cooker etc.)

17. Impact on combustion All unadjusted equipment will see reductions in heating output with increased hydrogen added. Equipment de-rating was a consistent result, wherein hydrogen blending decreases the input rate of equipment where more than a 3.5% de-rate is observed at 15% H 2 Partially premixed combustion systems will likely see an increase in primary aeration, resulting in the potential for concerns with flame stability. However, for moderate ranges of blending (<30%), flame stability is generally not an issue and NOx emissions are stable or decline.

18. Impact on end use system Several studies have discussed the issue of maximum hydrogen blend levels at which no or minor modifications would be needed for end-use systems. The conditions determining a maximum hydrogen blend level that does not adversely influence appliance operation or safety vary significantly and include the composition of the natural gas, the type of appliance (or engine), and the age of the appliance. Ranges noted as being acceptable generally for end-use systems fall within 5%–20% hydrogen. Given the inertia behind any required changes to end-user appliances or industrial facilities, hydrogen blending likely would begin at very low concentrations and then increase gradually over time as required modifications for higher concentrations are addressed. Multiple factors must be taken into consideration to assess the safety concerns associated with blending hydrogen into the existing natural gas pipeline system. Because hydrogen has a broader range of conditions under which it will ignite, a main concern is the potential for increased probability of ignition and resulting damage compared to the risk posed by natural gas without a hydrogen blend component

19. Material Durability and Integrity Management The durability of some metal pipes can degrade when they are exposed to hydrogen over long periods. The effect is highly dependent on the type of steel and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. There is also no major concern about the hydrogen aging effect on polyethylene (PE) or polyvinylchloride (PVC) pipe materials. Hydrogen blends can influence the accuracy of existing gas meters (around 4% with blending less than 50%). In most research programs, the focus of integrity management has been on transmission pipelines because of concerns at high operating pressures, up to 2,000 psi (139 bar), and the pipeline steels that are subject to hydrogen-induced cracking. Natural gas distribution systems are very different from transmission pipelines. The level of hydrogen that is acceptable for transmission pipelines may need to be reassessed for distribution systems in terms of the frequency and severity of fire

20. Downstream Extraction Three gas-separation technologies that could be used to extract hydrogen from mixtures in natural gas pipelines. Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) - PSA units appear to be economically practical only at pipeline pressure reduction stations (i.e., pressure regulation stations) Membrane separation - Membrane separation technologies work very efficiently with relatively high concentrations of hydrogen. This type of technology may be best suited for high-pressure pipelines (transmission pipelines), where the gas in the pipeline is sufficiently pressurized to allow significant recovery of hydrogen. Electrochemical hydrogen separation (EHS, or hydrogen pumping)- Electrochemical separation is a more elaborate method for bulk hydrogen recovery. Two technologies are currently used: a Nafion -based membrane system and a polybenzimidazole (PBI) system. Nafion based membrane system is more matured but PBI is more desirable because of low compression requirement. Of the three separation technologies considered, PSA is the most commercially ready. For a 10% concentration and 80% recovery factor, the estimated cost of hydrogen extraction by PSA from a 300 psi pipeline is $3.3–$8.3/kg hydrogen extracted, for a range of recovery rates of 1,000–100 kg/day. For a 20% concentration and 80% recovery factor, the extraction cost is $2.0–$7.4/kg hydrogen extracted for same range

21. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN The overall scope for introduction of hydrogen into natural gas systems is wide: Up to addition of 100% hydrogen, variation of the hydrogen content in the system, use of different sources of hydrogen, and many variants on the possible timescale for conversion. combustion properties of hydrogen/natural gas blends would not show great differences until concentrations of 20%-30% vol are reached The study was conducted by IEA Greenhouse gas R&D Program. There are significant differences in the structure of gas distribution systems around the world, mostly for historical reasons. To understand the basic of hydrogen addition the study was conducted under number of scenario choosing three countries The UK, which has a large component of older piping with low pressure final distribution, The Netherlands, with a modern network and low pressure final distribution, France, with a modern network and a high pressure final distribution system. These three systems incorporate most of the features which will be found in any gas system around the world.

22. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN The principle objective of this study is to examine the environmental benefits and costs for adding up to 25% v/v hydrogen into existing natural gas transport and distribution systems as an early way of de carbonizing energy systems. The second objective is to discuss the numerous technical and societal issues involved, according to the following plan: A review of existing or planned projects concerning hydrogen addition to natural gas The consequences of hydrogen addition on the performance and safety of a typical gas network The consequences of hydrogen addition on end user devices and the options for upgrade or replacement An analysis of likely causes of resistance to change and proposals for overcoming them Three IEA countries, U.K., France and The Netherlands were taken as base cases for the technical and financial analysis.

23. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION Small amounts of hydrogen could be blended into the grid at almost no cost apart from that of generating the hydrogen from natural gas (about 20$/ton CO2 abated with 73.3% energy conversion efficiency). A threshold occurs at around 3% volume beyond which significant investment is require. It suggested two stage approach for enhancing the concentration. Initially with 12% for adaptation by consumer (with existing apparatus) and slowly switching to a level of 25 %. ENGINES AND TURBINES Industrial gas engines are expected to need modified control systems to control knocking. Compressed natural gas vehicles (CNG) will suffer a severe reduction in range which could be partly compensated by moving to the higher pressure tanks which are already envisaged for use in hydrogen powered vehicles. METERING The effects on consumers’ gas meters will be within allowable ranges of accuracy and repeatability and thus no costs for meter upgrades are expected. CO2 ABATEMENT COSTS The long term costs of proceeding to 25% hydrogen were found to lie between $12 and $23/ton

24. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION CO2 ABATEMENT POTENTIAL The magnitude of CO2 abatement achievable by introduction of a peak of 25% hydrogen derived from fossil fuel with CO2 sequestration is only some 4%. In absolute terms this is about 3 million tons per annum for each of the three countries evaluated. The main reasons for this counter-intuitive result are that average concentrations would only be half the peak, hydrogen has only one third the heating value on a volumetric basis and hydrogen production (even from renewable sources) will be accompanied by some greenhouse gas emissions. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Extensive consultation would be essential if hydrogen introduction into the gas network was to be successfully implemented. This is especially so as the case for such a change is not compelling even on commercial grounds. It is essential to have clear long term plans on which the industry could base its decision making.

25. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION The risks for hydrogen embrittlement are unknown. There are indications that high pressure grids (>40 bars) made of high strength steel under tensile stress would be more vulnerable to crack growth. There is currently not a consensus between experts and the technical and economic consequences cannot yet be estimated. A large fraction of the current gas engines (stationary and mobile applications) need a λ-control system and anti-knocking system. The transport of gas over long distances is the cheapest by high pressure lines. Blending natural gas with hydrogen will be most cost effective when performed at entry points in the high pressure transportation grid. The hydrogen production and hydrogen blending process will be relatively cost effective because of economies of scale and the transportation can be carried out effectively via existing lines. There is a long history of the successful transportation of “pure” hydrogen at medium pressures (<20 bar) across the world, with steel (ferritic) pipelines running several hundred kilometers and no operational problems occurring over many decades. The risks from hydrogen cracking increase as the absolute stress within the pipe wall increases and the absolute pressure swings increase.

26. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION TRANSPORT CAPACITY The important parameter describing the transport capacity of a line is the pressure loss per transported amount of energy. The density, viscosity and calorific value of the gas determine this parameter. All these parameters are influenced by the addition of hydrogen. The line capacity is proportional to the square of the calorific value of the gas and inversely proportional to the density and compressibility factor. The main conclusion is that the higher the pressure, the more pronounced the detrimental effect of hydrogen addition on capacity because it is far less compressible than methane.

27. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION FLAME SPEED, FLAME STABILITY, FLAME DETECTION, IGNITION AND BURNER DECK The addition of hydrogen lowers the ignition temperature and, up to a certain concentration, generally improves the combustion. The addition of hydrogen also increases the flame speed. For radiant burners, the burner surface temperature increases for the same specific rating (rating per unit surface area), which can lower the life time of the burner The critical velocity gradient for blow off increases. Measurements have shown that these effects are negligible up to hydrogen addition of 20 vol%.

28. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION Practical experiments: Cooking devices and boilers In the Netherlands, research was carried out on gas cooking devices and domestic boilers [Polman] up to a hydrogen percentage of 17 %. * Two effects control the burner temperature, cooling and thermal conductivity **The CO formation is slightly lower due to the higher concentration of water

29. A STUDY REPORT ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN RESULT AND DISCUSSION Natural gas vehicles Addition of hydrogen to natural gas will lead to a substantial reduction of the range. This reduction will be 10% for 3% vol addition, 30% for 10% vol addition and 50% for 25% vol addition mainly because of compressibility effects at high pressure. In order to compensate for the decreased range, the design standards for HCNG (DOE’s designation of H2/natural gas vehicle fuel blends) storage tanks could be upgraded to those for hydrogen storage (300 bar) This would lead to decrease in range for 25 % hydrogen of only 25 %. Gas engines knocking problems occur with gas engines. For stationary gas engines this is often a combination of poor adjustment of the λ (air factor)

30. A CASE STUDY ON BLENDING OF HYDROGEN- Hy Deploy The HyDeploy project at Keele was delivered by a consortium of partners, consisting of: Cadent; Northern Gas Networks; Progressive Energy; Health and Safety Executive – Science Division; Keele University and ITM Power. Alongside the core consortium were a number of key subcontractors, such as Dave Lander Consulting, Kiwa Gastec, Otto Simon, Orbital Gas and Thyson Technology. The HyDeploy project seeks to address a key issue for UK customers: how to reduce the carbon they emit from heating their homes. The UK has a world class gas grid delivering heat conveniently and safely to over 83% of homes. The objective of this first HyDeploy programme was to demonstrate that a blend of hydrogen, up to 20 mol%, could be safely distributed and used within the current gas network. The blending of hydrogen within existing natural gas supplies is a pragmatic and achievable first step along the pathway of full conversion to 100% hydrogen.

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