Optimization of Hydrogen Blending in Natural Gas Networks for Carbon Emissions Reduction

We present an economic optimization problem for allocating the flow of natural gas and hydrogen blends through a large-scale transportation pipeline network. Physical flow of the gas mixture is modeled using a steady-state relation between pressure decrease and flow rate, which depends on mass concentration of the constituents as it varies by location in the network. The objective reflects the economic value provided by the system, accounting for delivered energy in withdrawn flows, the cost of natural gas and hydrogen injections, and avoided carbon emissions. The problem is solved subject to physical flow equations, nodal balance and mixing laws, and engineering inequality constraints. The desired energy delivery rate and minimum hydrogen concentration can be specified as upper and lower bound values, respectively, of inequality constraints, and we examine the sensitivity of the physical pressure and flow solution to these parameters for two test networks. The results confirm that increasing hydrogen concentration requires greater energy expended for compression to deliver the same energy content, and the formulation could be used for valuation of the resulting mitigation of carbon emissions.