Comprehensive Analysis for the Impact of Hydrogen Blending on the Economic and Environmental Performance of Natural Gas Pipeline Network

Abstract

Blending hydrogen into the existing natural gas pipeline network is regarded as a potential mode in the future. However, the influence of hydrogen on the economic and environmental performance of natural gas pipeline networks remained unclear. This paper established a mathematical programming model to get the optimal operation plan of the pipeline system under different hydrogen blending ratios, and the operation costs and carbon emissions of the hydrogen mixed system are analyzed accordingly. The studied case demonstrated that: (1) The optimization model has significant potential in reducing the economic cost and carbon emission of the system with an average decrease of 11.48%. (2) For every 1% of hydrogen added, the annual operating cost varies from minus $0.73 million to positive $1.67 million, and carbon emission varies from minus 0.38 kiloton to $0.76 kiloton. The proposed optimization model can provide theoretical guidance for the further application of this transportation mode.