Blending hydrogen
into the natural gas pipeline is considered as
a feasible way for large-scale and long-distance delivery of hydrogen.
However, the blended hydrogen can exert major impacts on the Joule–Thomson
(J–T) coefficient of natural gas, which is a significant parameter
for liquefaction of natural gas and formation of natural gas hydrate
in engineering. In this study, the J–T coefficient of natural
gas at different hydrogen blending ratios is numerically investigated.
First, the theoretical formulas for calculating the J–T coefficient
of the natural gas–hydrogen mixture using the Soave–Redlich–Kwong
(SRK) equation of state (EOS), Peng–Robinson EOS (PR-EOS),
and Benedict–Webb–Rubin–Starling EOS (BWRS-EOS)
are, respectively, derived, and the calculation accuracy is verified
by experimental data. Then, the J–T coefficients of natural
gas at six different hydrogen blending ratios and thermodynamic conditions
are calculated and analyzed using the derived theoretical formulas
and a widely used empirical formula. Results indicate that the J–T
coefficient of the natural gas–hydrogen mixture decreases approximately
linearly with the increase of the hydrogen blending ratio. When the
hydrogen blending ratio reaches 30% (mole fraction), the J–T
coefficient of the natural gas–hydrogen mixture decreases by
40–50% compared with that of natural gas. This work also provides
a J–T coefficient database of a methane–hydrogen mixture
with a hydrogen blending ratio of 5–30% at a pressure of 0.5–20
MPa and temperatures of 275, 300, and 350 K as a reference and a benchmark
for interested readers.