Energetic Evaluation of Hydrogen/Natural Gas Blends Transport through TGP Pipeline

Abstract

In the context of the energy transition towards renewable energies, hydrogen plays a significant role as an energy carrier, and its transportation poses significant challenges that must be overcome. Utilizing existing pipelines to transport hydrogen would imply significant economic savings, but considerations related to the energy consumption of compression must be taken into account as the hydrogen fraction in the transported mixture increases. Peru has an energy plan that includes promoting renewable energies and hydrogen development, in addition to the TGP pipeline, which spans over 730 km and transports around 920 Mscfd of natural gas according to its initial design. In this regard, this study conducted an energy evaluation of the pipeline for the transportation of hydrogen/natural gas blends and estimated the required energy consumption as the hydrogen fraction increases in the mixture. The results indicate an increase of 10,835 kW (48.5%) when the molar fraction of hydrogen is 30%, with a greater impact on the Chiquintirca compression station due to a higher compression ratio.