Preparing for the Hydrogen Economy by Using

the Existing Natural Gas System as a Catalyst

Project Contract No.: SES6/CT/2004/502661

Using the Existing Natural

Gas System for Hydrogen

www.naturalhy.net
 Welder inside Two Sections of 48" Pipe,
Welding the Seam to Create One Continous Section of Pipe

Published October 2009

 Preparing for the Hydrogen Economy by Using
the Existing Natural Gas System as a Catalyst
Project Contract No.: SES6/CT/2004/502661

table of contents
1. Executive Summary | page 4
2. Introduction | page 6
3. Background: the role of hydrogen
in the transition towards a sustainable energy society | page 8
4. The NATURALHY-approach: what can the natural gas
system offer for the delivery of hydrogen? | page 10
5. What is the impact of adding hydrogen to natural gas
on the durability of the network? | page 12
6. What measures should be taken to control and monitor
the condition of the network? | page 14
7. What is the impact of adding hydrogen to natural gas on
the safety aspects? | page 16
8. What is the impact of adding hydrogen to natural gas on
end user aspects? | page 18
9. Separation of hydrogen from a hydrogen/natural gas mixture
and its impact on the quality of the remaining gas | page 20
10. How to assess a specific network for the NATURALHY-concept:
the Decision Support Tool | page 22
11. What are the overall benefits of adding hydrogen to natural gas? | page 24
12. Concluding remarks | page 27
1 Executive T he European Commission-supported
NATURALHY project was set up to inves-
tigate whether hydrogen could be delivered
Summary safely via the existing European natural gas
network. This has involved mapping out the
feasibility, the consequences and the ben-
efits of using the natural gas network for
the safe and efficient transport of mixtures
of hydrogen and natural gas across Europe.
As such, the project has demonstrated the
capabilities of the natural gas network for
hydrogen delivery, which can be, potentially
a major contribution towards sustainability.
Hydrogen is expected to become an im-
portant future energy carrier because it can
significantly improve the security of energy
supply and reduce/avoid emissions of green-
house gases. A range of sustainable sources,
including biomass, can be used for the pro-
duction of hydrogen. It can be produced from
the gasification of coal, with or without Car-
bon Capture and Storage (CCS) and is also a
by-product in many chemical processes. Of
course, the combustion of natural gas with
added hydrogen emits less carbon dioxide
per energy unit than the combustion of pure
natural gas, as the combustion of hydrogen
is "carbon free".
The objective of the NATURALHY proj-
ect has been to define the conditions under
which hydrogen could be added to the natu-
ral gas transport network without unaccept-
able impact on the integrity of the network,
safety, and the performance of natural gas
appliances. The project has proved that:
 depending on the steel from which
high pressure pipelines are constructed,
these pipelines could be used for gas mix-
tures that contain up to 50% of hydrogen
 safety related to the transmission,
distribution and use of natural gas is not sig-
nificantly compromised compared to the cur-
rent situation with natural gas if up to 20%
of hydrogen is added to natural gas. Addi-
tions up to 50% might be feasible but must
be assessed case by case

4
  the maximum percentage of hydrogen that can be allowed to ensure proper end-use per-
formance depends on appliance type and condition as well as on local natural gas distribution
conditions. For domestic appliances, a method has been derived to address these questions on
the level of a distribution region (country)
There is no doubt that the NATURALHY project has been an important step in providing
hitherto unavailable information which could make a significant contribution to the ‘greening’
and de-carbonisation of natural gas with hydrogen.
However, there are two very important points to note:
 there are no simple answers.
Each potential addition of hydrogen to a particular part of the European gas network
must be considered individually in conjunction with the project’s Decision Support Tool; (see
chapter 10)
 there are some aspects of the gas network that have not been investigated in full
detail, as they were beyond the scope of the NATURALHY project.

5
2 Introduction I t is important to begin by stating that
the use of hydrogen can be regarded as
controversial and, contrary to much popu-
lar belief, it is not the new wonder source
of energy that will solve all of our energy
problems; it is simply an energy carrier, its
method of production being of critical im-
portance in determining its contribution to
sustainability. Nevertheless, there is con-
siderable interest in the ‘Hydrogen Econ-
omy’ which means that some way must
be found for moving hydrogen around be-
tween sources and points of use in Europe.
If we want to avoid clogging up the roads
with hydrogen tankers, an alternative
means of shipping hydrogen safely and
economically has to be found. An obvious
option was to consider using the existing
European natural gas system to transport
natural gas/hydrogen mixtures and, with a
few labour pains, the NATURALHY project
was born. The basic vision is that the mix-
ture of hydrogen/natural gas should be
suitable for use as such. In addition, the
option of separating hydrogen from the
mixture by means of membrane filters has
been investigated. Both these possibilities
are interesting options for de-carbonising
current energy systems.
This brochure presents the results ob-
tained in this ground-breaking research
project which has been designed to iden-
tify the potential of the existing European
natural gas network for the safe delivery
of hydrogen. The NATURALHY project is
a unique, international research effort,
which has been supported throughout by
the European Commission’s Sixth Research
and Development Framework Programme,
FP6.
Results are presented here, in sum-
mary form, for those interested in energy
and its transition towards a more sustain-
able energy future. Our intention is to raise
awareness of the issues related to adding
hydrogen to natural gas, to highlight the

6
possible consequences, and to give both evidence and a flavour of what might be realisti-
cally achievable. In particular, the results are directed at decision makers at the political
level, industry professionals, including those from network companies, researchers in the
field of hydrogen and sustainable energy and interested members of the public.
The NATURALHY project has investigated how and to what extent natural gas networks
could further support the introduction of hydrogen. The following chapters summarise the
consequences of adding hydrogen to natural gas, for the whole delivery chain, from hydro-
gen injection point in the high pressure transmission grid up to and including end user ap-
pliances. Crucially, assessment of the overall environmental and socio-economic benefits of
the NATURALHY approach has been an integral part of the project. However, benefits can
only be realised if options are technically feasible. Hence, the project has focussed on poten-
tial "show stoppers", so that only the most important issues have been investigated, leaving
out subsequent considerations which are expected to be solvable, although sometimes with
substantial costs. It is very important to note that the research and development of sources
of hydrogen was outside the scope of this project.
First, a few facts about the NATURALHY project; It started on 1st May 2004, and
was completed on 31st October 2009. The project comprised 39 partners, listed in the last
chapter in this brochure. The project management team consisted of the Universities of
Loughborough and Oxford, GDF SUEZ (formerly Gaz de France), Instituto de Soldadura e
Qualidade (ISQ), DBI Gas- und Umwelttechnik, EXERGIA Energy and Environment Consult-
ants S.A., and EUROGAS – GERG (The European Gas Research Group).
The project was coordinated by N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie. The project budget amounted
to €17 million, including a European Commission grant for € 11 million. Further information
is available on the project website www.naturalhy.net

7
3 Background: I mportant energy issues that the world is facing
now concern the security of supply and polluting
emissions, particularly greenhouse gases. The cur-
the role of rent transition towards more sustainable energy
sources aims to deal with these issues. The tran-

hydrogen in sitional changes being implemented involve both

technical and non-technical aspects, including, for

the transition instance, developing new energy carriers and appli-

cations and reducing energy demand. For the fol-
lowing three reasons an important role is foreseen
towards a for hydrogen as an energy carrier in a sustainable
energy society:

sustainable 1. Hydrogen can be produced in many ways

from locally available energy sources including

energy society electrolysis of water using electricity produced

from wind or solar energy, or from gasification of
biomass. Using such sustainable energy sources
for hydrogen production can improve security of
energy supply.
2. The levels of pollution from controlled hydro-
gen combustion are relatively low and, if produced
from sources with low emissions, hydrogen is a
relatively clean fuel. Mobile applications fuelled
with pure hydrogen can improve local air quality by
replacing petrol and diesel in cars and buses.
3. As pure hydrogen can be converted by fuel
cells into electricity and vice-versa with high effi-
ciency, it has potential for storage of electrical en-
ergy (such as in the case of electricity generation
from wind energy when supply exceeds demand).

8
 Although research activities on crucial topics such as the sustainable production of hy-
drogen, hydrogen storage, and fuel cells are still on going, it is broadly expected that hydro-
gen will be an energy carrier of increasing importance in our energy mix. This expectation
is based on the conclusion that in the near future, say after 2015, significant volumes of
hydrogen can be produced from the gasification of coal or biomass: the gasification of bio-
mass is almost "carbon-neutral" and with carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon dioxide
emissions related to coal gasification can be relatively low. Potential supplies of biomass
are substantial and global coal reserves are immense. Reduction of carbon dioxide emis-
sions by replacement of fossil fuels with hydrogen produced from "low carbon" sources of
energy could contribute to de-carbonisation and 'greening' of our energy economy.

9
4 The T he first logical step towards a transitional
delivery system suitable for hydrogen and
hydrogen-containing gases must be an investi-
NATURALHY gation of the extent to which existing assets,
including the existing natural gas pipeline infra-

approach: structure, can be used for hydrogen delivery.

In principle, the existing European natural

what can the gas system offers the following opportunities:

 in place, so potentially cost-effective

natural gas and available in the short term

 well-established grid management and

system offer operation strategies

 widely spread and interconnected

for the delivery 


very high capacity
well-established safety procedures and

of hydrogen? an excellent safety record, based on a well-de-

veloped maintenance and control structure
 broad acceptance by the public.
Generally speaking, a network designed for
natural gas cannot be used for pure hydrogen
for a number of reasons, without modifica-
tions to network components or the way it is
operated and maintained. The point is that the
physical and chemical properties of hydrogen
differ significantly from those of natural gas.
The differences concern, amongst other consid-
erations, density, calorific value, ignition energy,
flammable limits and burning velocity. Even the
addition of a certain percentage of hydrogen to
natural gas will have a direct impact on;
 combustion properties
 diffusion into materials and effect on

their mechanical properties

 behaviour of the gas mixture in air.
As a result of these contrasting properties, a
system designed for natural gas cannot be used
without appropriate modifications for pure hy-
drogen, and vice-versa.
However, the existing natural gas transmis-
sion, distribution and end-use systems could be
used, with suitable adjustments, for mixtures
of natural gas and hydrogen. In this case, the
hydrogen/natural gas mixture can be used di-
rectly or, if required, hydrogen appliances could
be fuelled with “pure” hydrogen by developing
Summary of the Existing Natural Gas System devices to extract hydrogen selectively from the

10
mixture. The definition of the conditions under which hydrogen can be added without unaccept-
able consequences to natural gas, and the development of devices for hydrogen separation from
a mixture, has been an important part of the NATURALHY project.
In principle, hydrogen can be added to natural gas in the high-pressure grid, in the medium
pressure grid, or in the low pressure distribution grid, but it must be remembered that the exist-
ing system was designed and constructed specifically for natural gas and, as explained above,
the physical and chemical properties of hydrogen differ significantly from those of natural gas.
In particular, the addition of hydrogen to natural gas may have an impact on numerous aspects
of the existing system. The work done in the framework of the NATURALHY-project to quantify
this impact further is described in detail in the following chapters:

 safety related to the transmission, distribution and use of gas

 integrity of pipelines

 gas quality management

 performance of end user appliances

 energy capacity of the delivery system

 gaseous (and energy) losses.

11
5 What is G as transportation and distribution net-
works are very complex and inhomo-
geneous infrastructures. Adding hydrogen
the impact to natural gas will lead to direct contact of
gaseous hydrogen with the networks and the
of adding associated installations that have been de-
signed specifically for natural gas.

hydrogen The influence of hydrogen on the differ-

ent materials is diverse. Steel materials can

to natural change their material properties in the pres-

ence of hydrogen if there is direct contact of

gas on the hydrogen with clean metal surfaces. In this

case, the fatigue properties and toughness of

durability steels, used for the gas transportation pipe-

lines, are influenced in a detrimental way. This
material degradation results in higher crack
of the growth rates and can lead to the initiation
of new cracks. Consequently, the service life
network? of pipelines can be decreased in compari-
son to service with natural gas. Furthermore,
the pipeline integrity management strategy
needs to be adapted as the systems in use
focus on corrosion defects and not on cracks
or crack‑like defects. On the positive side, the
risk of fast, long-distance crack propagation
in the pipeline is reduced, as hydrogen addi-
tion will have a beneficial effect, due to the
more rapid decompression behaviour com-
pared with natural gas. Therefore, propagat-
ing ruptures will be stopped more easily and
rapidly.
Effect of gaseous hydrogen on resistance of pipe steel
to crack growth in fatigue loading At the downstream end of the gas grids,

12
distribution networks are in place to supply
natural gas safely and reliably to the end
user. Since the late 1980’s polymers have
been heavily used for the construction of dis-
tribution networks because of their beneficial
properties for the purpose of low pressure
gas distribution. Polymer pipes do not suf-
fer from conventional corrosion even though
they undergo degradation over their lifetime.
Beyond this they have a much better perfor-
mance concerning the gas tightness of the
connections in comparison to older materi-
als such as cast iron. On the other hand they
are less gas tight regarding the loss of gases
through their pipe wall (permeation) driven
IFP test bench (2 permeation cells)
by the concentration gradient.
X70 In 100% H2 and X70 In 50%NG - 50%H2 mixture
The amount of natural gas, which can-
not be delivered to the customer because of 10
X70 in 50%NG - 50%H2 mixture

permeation losses is very small and accepted 9

8
from a safety, economic and environmental 7
point of view. Adding hydrogen to the natural 6
5 X70 In 100%H2
gas will lead to a change in gas losses through 4
permeation, as the transport of hydrogen 3

through the wall of polymer pipes (from in- 2

Pr 3
side the pipe to the environment) is quicker es
su
4
200 250
300
re 5 150
than for natural gas. This applies to polyeth- (M
Pa
6 50 100
ck len
gth (m m )
) Cra
ylene (PE) and also to polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
Critical initial axial crack depths for 50% and 100% natural mixtures (required
Within the framework of the project various lifespan: 60 years; pipeline steel: X70; Environment: 100% hydrogen; no residual stresses)
investigations have been performed in order
to determine the permeation properties and
the corresponding effect on the gas losses.
The change in permeation losses has been
evaluated from a safety perspective. Apart
from permeation, ageing effects have been
investigated in order to ensure that adding
hydrogen to the distribution network will not
affect the lifetime of this infrastructure in a
significant way.
The results show that effects on pipe ma-
terials used in the natural gas grids, caused
by hydrogen, can be mitigated by appropri-
ate measures. Modifications to maintain a
safe and reliable supply of customers with
natural gas / hydrogen mixtures will mainly
be necessary for pipelines made of steel, but
importantly, no "show‑stoppers" have been DBI test bench with controlled space and casing according to EG 97/23
identified.

13
 What T he material investigations identified that

6
additional measures will be required to
ensure the integrity of steel pipelines, when
measures hydrogen is transported by the existing nat-
ural gas system. Consequently the pipeline

should be integrity management systems (PIMS) in

place need to be adapted. Modifications will

taken to be necessary for wide parts of the existing

PIMS as defects, that are currently not in the
focus, need to be considered, when hydrogen
control and is transported. Furthermore the extent of the
modifications will depend on the hydrogen

monitor the concentration in the natural gas.

The critical defects regarding the hydro-

condition of gen transportation are sharp defects (cracks

and crack-like defects), as they introduce a

the network? significant stress into the pipeline and can

lead to interactions between hydrogen and
the pipeline material. As well as the defect
type, it is very important to know the criti-
cal size of defects. Cracks can grow over
time (cracks are time dependent defects) so
knowledge of the crack growth rate in a cer-
tain timeframe can provide the critical initial
defect size by back calculation, assuming a
particular design life. The critical initial de-
fect size should not be exceeded at the begin-
ning of the period under review. The critical
size of cracks and crack‑like defects provides
important information for the specification
of pipeline inspection tools, which need to
detect and identify the defects, (when they
have achieved a critical size), with a high re-
liability.
Pipeline Integrity Assessment Tool
Within the NATURALHY project, critical
defect sizes for typical cases were investi-
gated in sensitivity studies. Furthermore, a
tool able to calculate the probability that a
pipeline or a defect (crack and corrosion) will
fail or lead to failure was developed. Based
on the results of the sensitivity studies and
the Probablility Of Failure (POF) calculations,
requirements for in-line inspection tools were
summarised. In a large scale test adapted
tools were examined to prove whether they
Clock Spring repair of a steel pipeline met the more stringent requirements. The

1
Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL)
2
TRIAX sensors are used in the MagneScanTM tool
(able to detect corrosion and long axial defects)
3
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT)

14
results suggested that modified inspection tools such as MFL1, TRIAX2 and EMAT3 can be applied
in order to inspect gas pipelines containing natural gas / hydrogen mixtures and find critical
defects. By using in-line inspection and POF calculation results, the intervals for pipeline inspec-
tion activities can be determined for different hydrogen concentrations, loads and geometries of
pipelines and defects. It is expected that inspection intervals will be shortened in comparison to
the natural gas service, especially for higher hydrogen concentrations. As a countermeasure the
improvement of inspection tool performance can offer mitigation, as early detection and reliable
sizing of defects is beneficial for lowering the probability of failure.
After having identified defects, an optimisation process of actions has been proposed in
order to reduce the costs but still meet the required safety levels. Calculations of net present
value have shown that, depending on the amount and distribution of defects, the costs for repair
and renewal can be reduced
significantly by grouping ac-
tivities together.
Concerning pipeline re-
pair methods, three currently
applied procedures have been
investigated regarding their
suitability for hydrogen ser-
vice. The work focused on the
abililty of the repair measure
to take on the pipeline load
and on the effect of hydro-
gen on welding activities.
The investigated repair meth-
ods (“Clock Spring”, “Metallic
Sleeve” and “Weld Deposit”)
were found to be suitable
for repairing hydrogen-con- General flow chart of the integrity management cycle
taining pipelines even though (source: Report "Integrity Management and the Naturalhy Project")
performance was slightly re-
duced in some cases.
Finally the effect of adding hydrogen on the costs of integrity management has been in-
vestigated. The costs are strongly dependent on individual circumstances, especially regarding
hydrogen concentration, defect distribution, material properties, loads and integrity targets.
An example was elaborated using material data on defect distributions which reflect pipes in a
"medium condition", with a maximum operation pressure of 66 bars and meeting a POF integrity
target for corrosion and for cracks after 50 years of operation which is in line with current failure
statistics for European natural gas transmission pipelines. With the example considered, it was
concluded that, for high concentrations of hydrogen (50%) in natural gas pipelines, there were
slight effects on the inspection and repair frequency and therefore increased total costs (inspec-
tion and repair for corrosion and cracks) in the order of less than 10%.
Summarising the results overall, it can be stated that, based on the relevant data, appropri-
ate and affordable pipeline integrity management can be put in place for the transportation of
natural gas and hydrogen mixtures up to a hydrogen concentration of 50%.

15
7 What is T he existing gas pipeline networks are de-
signed, constructed and operated based on
the premise that natural gas is the material to
the impact be conveyed. The safety of the pipeline system
and the risk posed to the public by the supply

of adding and use of natural gas are well understood, and

considered acceptable, after many years of op-

hydrogen erational experience and much research into the

effects of accidental escapes.

to natural However, hydrogen has different chemical

and physical properties which may adversely
affect (increase) the risk presented to the pub-
gas on lic. Risk is a combination of likelihood of an
untoward event (such as failure frequency of

the safety pipelines or ignition probability) and the conse-

quence (hazard) of the event (such as the se-

aspects? verity of a fire or explosion). Adding hydrogen

to the gas infrastructure may affect both the
likelihood and severity of untoward events and
hence potentially increase the risk to the public.
The NATURALHY project has focussed effort on
quantifying this effect in order to establish if
the risk remains acceptable and to identify the
maximum hydrogen concentration that can be
added to the natural gas without this risk be-
coming unacceptably high.
To re-assess the severity of the hazard pre-
sented by accidental releases of natural gas/
hydrogen mixtures, NATURALHY has studied
experimentally, at large scale, the behaviour of
gas escapes and explosions in both a domestic
and industrial setting and assessed the effect
of increasing levels of hydrogen addition. These
studies established that escapes of natural gas/
hydrogen mixtures within buildings behave in a
similar way to natural gas, in terms of the na-
ture of the accumulation produced. However,
the gas concentration and volume of the ac-
Working on the test rig cumulation increases as hydrogen is added but
these increases are slight for hydrogen addition
up to 50% by volume. In the event of ignition
of a gas escape within a building, the explosion
presents a hazard to the occupants. Here, the
work of the NATURALHY project has shown that
the severity of explosions in buildings increases
if hydrogen is added to natural gas. However,
the increase is only slight for hydrogen addition
Thermal image of flame of 20%.

16
 The closest contact that the general public has with the gas supply system is in their homes,
as customers, using the gas for heating and cooking. It is impossible to prevent all gas escapes
and currently, a small number of explosions occur each year as a result of gas escapes in domes-
tic properties. Hence, the frequency of such explosions has been re-assessed for natural gas/
hydrogen mixtures. This analysis has suggested that the explosion frequency could increase by
up to a factor of 2 as a result of adding 20% by volume hydrogen to natural gas. However, the
current risk is very low and even with this increase the risk remains within generally acceptable
limits.
From the point of view of the pipeline operator, the main concern is the assessment of
the risk that their operations present to the public at large, from the pipeline network and
from their gas processing sites, including compressor or pressure reduction stations. Hence,
operators need a methodology
which will enable them to as-
sess these risks following the
addition of hydrogen to the
pipeline network. The princi-
pal hazard posed by the fail-
ure of transmission pipelines
is that of a large fire. Hence,
NATURALHY has re-assessed
this hazard for natural gas/hy-
drogen mixtures by conduct-
ing large scale experiments
and developing a mathemati-
cal model to evaluate the fire
hazard. Using information ob-
VCE Test Rig
tained within the NATURALHY
project of the effect of hydrogen on pipeline materials, the failure frequency of transmission
pipelines conveying natural gas/hydrogen mixtures was re-assessed, and it was concluded that,
with appropriate integrity management of the fatigue life, the failure frequency of transmission
pipelines would not be adversely affected to any great extent.
By combining the work on failure frequency, ignition probability and the assessment of fire
hazard, NATURALHY has developed an easy to use screening tool (LURAP4) which will enable
operators to assess the risk posed by the transmission of natural gas/hydrogen mixtures and
compare it with current risk levels. LURAP determines, the risk posed by an individual pipeline
to a person close by, or an entire network of pipelines to the population as a whole. The results
from LURAP suggest that the addition of hydrogen increases the risk to an individual at loca-
tions near the pipeline but decreases the risk at locations further away (as the extent of the
hazardous region is reduced).
Finally, pipeline operators also need to assess the background level of leakage from their
pipeline networks as part of their integrity management and environmental assessments, since
methane is a greenhouse gas. A study of the expected background level of ‘leakage’ from the gas
system (through minor defects in the pipelines or by permeation through the pipeline material)
has shown that the level of leakage overall is very small and poses no hazard from a safety point
of view. Indeed, the addition of hydrogen results in a slight decrease in the level of methane
emissions to the atmosphere from the gas infrastructure, which is beneficial from an environ-
mental perspective.

4
LURAP: Loughborough University Risk Assessment of Pipelines. Available within the DST

17
8 What is W ith increasing hydrogen addition to
the natural gas supply, the physi-
cal characteristics and basic combustion
the impact properties of the fuel will be modified,
which, in turn, could alter the operation,

of adding reliability and safety of appliances. For

domestic appliances, personal health and

hydrogen to home safety are at stake and tens of mil-

lions of appliances in any given country
are involved. Furthermore, important
natural gas data on appliances (types, years in use,
maintenance record etc.) in use in each

on end user house is quite limited. Thus, while all ma-

jor classes of end-use equipment have

aspects? been considered in the NATURALHY proj-

ect, particular attention has been paid to
domestic appliances.
Current fundamental understanding
of combustion processes opens the way
to analyse the consequences of introduc-
ing new distribution gases like natural
gas/hydrogen mixtures by performing
a limited number of basic combustion
calculations and experiments instead of
large numbers of appliance tests. This
fundamental analysis can be performed
for the gas compositions relevant to any
national situation, in a straightforward
and quantitative way5. Consequently, it
has been possible to consider the “essen-
tial” consequences of hydrogen addition
i.e., those causing safety and reliabil-
ity issues (such as light-back in domes-
tic appliances, overheating of industrial
burners, engine knock in gas engines
etc.), fitness-for-purpose (thermal input
to, and efficiency of, combustion equip-
ment) and environmental issues (such as
consequences for emissions of nitrogen
oxides). One practical aspect that has not
been considered is the life-long physi-
cal integrity of gas utilization equipment
since all current end-use equipment has
been designed, tested and approved for
natural gas and not mixtures containing
hydrogen.

5
Method developed by Gasunie Engineering &
Technology, Groningen, The Netherlands

18
 There is one effect of hydrogen addition
on the performance of combustion equipment
that must be emphasised. Taking a given
natural gas and “simply” adding hydrogen to
it will decrease the Wobbe index of the gas,
up to hydrogen fractions in excess of 80%.
Since the thermal input (power) to gas utiliza-
tion equipment is directly proportional to the
Wobbe index, the thermal input will decrease
in all combustion equipment, except those
with power controls (such as power genera-
tion equipment).
It is anticipated that, for the time being,
natural gas distribution will continue within
the existing distribution bands, as defined by a
range of Wobbe index values. In the context of
the effect of hydrogen addition on the Wobbe
index, this fact itself constrains the maximum
allowable hydrogen fraction: the Wobbe index
of a given natural gas/hydrogen mixture must
remain above that of the lower Wobbe limit of
the existing band. Concept for a hydrogen household fuel cells. AA (R6) battery with
large compartment filled with bubbling water
From this work, the following conclusions
were drawn:

 the maximum hydrogen concentra-

tion for the domestic market in a country is
determined by the safe operation of properly
adjusted conventional domestic appliances as
well as by the local conditions of natural gas
quality (range and current value of Wobbe In-
dex)

 for properly adjusted appliances and

favourable conditions of natural gas quality,
conventional domestic appliances can accom-
modate up to 20% of hydrogen

 for poorly adjusted appliances and/or

unfavourable conditions of natural gas quality,
no hydrogen admixture is allowed

 stationary gas engines and gas tur-

bines need readjustment and/or modification

 feedstock processing and industrial

combustion applications require case-to-case
Blue flames from gas stove burner. Closeup shot of blue flames from
consideration. a kitchen gas range

19
9 Separation T he use of the existing natural gas network to dis-
tribute hydrogen provides the opportunity to cre-
ate local “hydrogen centres” by developing separa-
of hydrogen tion technologies to provide hydrogen for end users.
Separation of hydrogen is a mature technology and

from a in refineries, is usually carried out by pressure swing

adsorption (PSA) technology. However, these tend to

hydrogen/ require large scale units which work best with high
levels (greater than 50%) of hydrogen in the feed gas.
There is a requirement for smaller scale separation of
natural gas hydrogen, and when the mixture contains lower levels
of hydrogen in the feed gas under typical natural gas

mixture, and pipeline conditions. Hydrogen quality is an important

issue for end-use and hydrogen purity needs to be

its impact on matched to the specific application.

The NATURALHY project has focussed on develop-

the quality ing advanced hydrogen-selective membranes for the

separation of hydrogen from natural gas/hydrogen
mixtures. Membranes are essentially selective molecu-
of the lar filters and operate under a partial pressure driving
force, so that the higher the partial pressure differ-

remaining ence and the concentration gradient of hydrogen, the

more efficient the separation. The focus has been on:

gas laboratory development of thin palladium based


membranes for obtaining pure hydrogen
 developing carbon-based membranes that oper-
ate at low temperatures and with high selectivity
 producing a conceptual design for a “hybrid”
membrane separation system comprising a carbon
membrane first stage followed by a palladium alloy
membrane for use in a 100m3/hr hydrogen refuelling
station (see figure on this page). This system exploits
the advantageous properties of each type of mem-
brane so as to optimise overall performance
 carrying out a cost analysis of the membrane
system and benchmarking performance and costs
against commercial PSA systems.
Currently commercially
available palladium mem-
branes are conventionally
“thick” tubular membranes
and are very expensive. The
NATURALHY approach has
been to prepare extremely
thin membranes both to in-
crease flux and to reduce
costs. Efficient palladium
membranes have been de-
Conceptual membrane separation scheme for NATURALHY

20
veloped using electroless plating to produce 3µm thick
membranes, while magnetron sputtering has been
used to deposit thin palladium/silver alloy membranes
onto smooth uniform substrates. These membranes
operate at 300oC with good hydrogen flux, high recov- Pd membrane laboratory test module
ery and 100% selectivity for hydrogen. Carbon based
membranes have been produced by pyrolysing hemi-
cellulose. These membranes have been shown to have
greater permeability with better selectivity (up to 98%)
than conventional polymeric membranes; in addition
they operate at temperatures between 30o and 90oC.
By combining the best characteristics of each of
these membranes into a hybrid scheme, it has been Electron micrograph showing commercial ceramic support
with defects and the effect of applying more uniform porous
possible to obtain an increase in efficiency and flex- ceramic layer
ibility together with lower costs for separation. De-
pending on process conditions the carbon membrane
can deliver up to 98% pure hydrogen, while the pal-
ladium membrane delivers pure hydrogen. Thus, the
system can provide different hydrogen specifications
depending on end user requirements. By using the car-
bon membrane, most of the separation is carried out
at almost room temperature and, subsequently, the Pd thin film membrane supported on tubular ceramic
feed to the palladium membrane has very high hydro- substrate
gen content, thereby improving the driving force and
reducing, substantially, the palladium membrane sur-
face area required.
Analysis of costs shows that the hybrid system,
including ancillaries, is potentially cheaper than sepa-
ration by PSA. Small scale PSA systems are currently
Hollow fibre carbon membrane
under development. However, as with all PSA systems,
separating hydrogen from streams with a hydrogen
content less than 40% is problematic and requires
additional facilities; the options are two PSA units
in series, or, a carbon membrane (as with the hybrid
concept) to concentrate the hydrogen level in the feed
before the final PSA unit.
Gas quality issues have been considered, both in
the case of adding hydrogen to the natural gas net-
work and also the effect on downstream gas quality
as hydrogen is withdrawn by end users. In a scenario
where, for example, 25% hydrogen is added, by vol-
ume, to natural gas, end users at different points in
the network may take out hydrogen at different quan-
tities and qualities. This will have an effect on the gas
quality of the remaining natural gas/hydrogen mix-
ture, although analysis shows that the downstream
gas quality will not be adversely affected since the
Wobbe index and heating value will not be outside the Packaged separator module integrating the membranes & heat-
statutory requirements. ing system, and showing the internal flow pattern

21
10 How to T he NATURALHY project delivers
a massive amount of information
on the economics, societal and en-
assess a vironmental aspects of transporting
hydrogen over a natural gas transmis-

specific sion network and on a wide range of

materials’ properties and behaviour, on

network separation membranes performance

and costs for several end user applica-
tions, such as industrial end users, fill-
for the ing stations, etc., on pipeline integrity
and on gas transport network safety

NATURALHY performance when carrying a mixture

of hydrogen and natural gas.

concept: the The NATURALHY DST (Decision

Support Tool) has been devised in or-

Decision der to enable a natural gas pipeline

operator to perform a "what-if" analy-
sis on what happens to a specific Gas
Support Tool Transport Network (GTN) when specific
hydrogen percentages are transported.
The DST is a PC-based software tool
which enables a company to introduce
a configuration layout of a specific gas
transport network or section of a net-
work and evaluate the consequences of
adding hydrogen and compare it with
any other configuration over a number
of active years.
It must be stressed that the DST is
focused on an overall and general type
of analysis and not on replacing, for in-
stance, commercially available pipeline
integrity management systems which
carry out integrity analysis to a much
greater level of detail. In addition, the
considerable amount of detailed infor-
mation on actual pipeline conditions
and behaviour that is required in order
to enable a more thorough analysis is
either simply not available at gas com-
pany level or requires a data collection
cost that is not acceptable for the re-
sulting increase in accuracy.
The DST has two main uses: to in-
form, through its Information Reposi-
tory, the expected material and device
behaviour when certain hydrogen per-

22
 Typical configuration of a Gas Transport Network (GTN)

centages are applied and to simulate, using its "what-if" analysis capabilities, the actual pipeline
degradation behaviour over certain periods of time with the option of applying, on the pipeline
model, mitigation measures. Thus, the NATURALHY DST key goals are to;
 enable editing, analysis and annotation of a pipeline network, so relevant information
may be found and extracted at later stages
 compute a comprehensive "what-if" analysis of applying different levels of hydrogen in
the network.
The above-mentioned analysis comprises risk assessment, cost assessment, evaluation, and
proposal of rules, guidelines and procedures that will mitigate the expected increase of risk and/
or costs when applying the gas mixture to the pipeline network.
The GTN sub-form is provided to enable the user to lay out a complete GTN using a compre-
hensive toolbox provided by the DST.
The DST is able to draw a map of the GTN so the user may actually see in the layout where
sections cross population areas and establish more accurate risk distances (e.g. proximity to
population densities).
The DST presents several "dashboards", for life cycle and socio-economic assessment, for
safety and for integrity. With the exception of the life cycle and socio-economic assessment, all
analyses are time dependent and show the evolution of the GTN properties over time.
Each of the dashboards displays a specific analysis that is carried out by the NATURALHY
DST. It is through the dashboards that comparisons between a GTN with or without hydrogen
can be performed. The DST is extremely flexible and is able to carry out GTN simulation and
comparison of any two configurations over a period of up to 50 years, yielding cost, safety and
integrity calculations for all selected sections.

23
11 What are T he potential benefits of adding hydrogen
have been addressed in the NATURALHY
Project through life cycle and socio-economic
the overall assessment. This has involved establishing
standard procedures for calculating various en-

benefits vironmental impacts, economic costs and em-

ployment implications of existing and possible

of adding future energy systems. In particular, these pro-

cedures determine primary energy inputs (as in-
dicators of energy resource depletion), carbon
hydrogen to dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions
(as prominent greenhouse gas emissions asso-

natural gas? ciated with global climate change), sulphur diox-

ide, oxides of nitrogen and particulate emissions
(as pollutants affecting urban air quality), inter-
nal economic costs, and direct and indirect jobs
in the European Union. By adopting a system-
atic and transparent approach to these calcula-
tions, it has been possible to quantify benefits
and communicate them in a convincing manner.
The starting point for this work was a re-
view of life cycle and socio-economic assess-
ment studies at the beginning of the NATUR-
ALHY Project. Subsequently, a standard format
for calculations was devised, based on MS Excel
workbooks, and an associated guide was pre-
pared. From this, workbooks for relevant tech-
nologies were assembled both as stand-alone
files and for incorporation into the DST. The
most important workbooks are those which de-
scribe the existing natural gas network and its
operation with the addition of hydrogen. The
workbooks for the existing natural gas network

Breakdown of Energy, Emissions, Jobs and Costs per Unit Output of Natural Gas Network Operation for Large Users

24
 Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Hydrogen Production

were needed to provide a baseline against which the addition of hydrogen could be compared
in terms of relative changes in environmental impacts, economic costs and employment impli-
cations. Outputs are generated in numerical and graphical formats, giving absolute values and
relative contributions, for example to natural gas delivery by the network to large users (see the
figure in page 24).
The workbooks for the existing natural gas network cover the supply of natural gas, and the
construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning of the network. The actual de-
tails of these workbooks are based on a practical balance between appropriate representation
of a real natural gas network and demands on user data input requirements. In particular, the
components of a natural gas network have been simplified into a transmission (high pressure)
system (with head stations, pipes, compressors and storage facilities), a regional distribution
(medium pressure) system (with pipes and large pressure reduction facilities), and a local dis-
tribution (low pressure) system (with pipes). Aspects of these systems, such as different pipe
lengths, diameters, wall thicknesses and typical materials, can be varied to simulate existing
networks. Both design details and default values were provided for these workbooks by gas utili-
ties which were NATURALHY Project partners.
The workbook which describes the operation of natural gas networks with the addition of
hydrogen was assembled using results generated by other NATURALHY project activities. In

Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Hydrogen Delivery by Truck, Dedicated Pipeline and the Existing Natural Gas Network (NATURALHY approach)

25
particular, the procedure for adjusting leakages for the addition of hydrogen was provided by
studies conducted on safety, incorporating some of the results from research on durability.
Crucial information on the effects of hydrogen on the frequency of internal pipe inspections
and subsequent repairs was supplied from activities on integrity. The source of essential
performance data on hydrogen separation technologies and the effect of hydrogen on appli-
ances derived from research on end-use.
In order to complete analysis of potential benefits, it was also necessary to add evalu-
ation of methods for producing hydrogen. For convenience, this was achieved by creating a
Library of Results which included available data on a variety of different hydrogen generat-
ing technologies. This enables comparison of results such as total greenhouse gas emissions,
measured in equivalent carbon dioxide, for a range of hydrogen production technologies with
the emissions factors for the conventional supply, delivery and combustion of natural gas by
different users (bounded by the pink dotted lines as illustrated in the first figure of page 25).

Change in Total Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Natural Gas/Hydrogen Delivery to Large Users

Specific details of the source of hydrogen, where it is injected into the existing natural gas
network, and whether and how it is separated from the subsequent mixture determine the
occurrence and magnitude of benefits.
The addition of hydrogen to natural gas can make a significant reduction in total green-
house gas emissions if the hydrogen is sourced from certain forms of biomass (forestry
residues, straw and miscanthus), wind power (both onshore and offshore) and nuclear power.
Depending on circumstances, hydrogen production from fossil fuels with carbon capture and
storage also offers some advantages. However, reductions in total greenhouse gas emis-
sions with these sources of hydrogen are generally lower. Additionally, there may be no ben-
efits in terms of decreased primary energy demand or energy resource depletion, although
implications for energy security are governed by the location of these sources of fossil fuels.
Potential benefits of extracting hydrogen from the mixture depend on the actual perfor-
mance of the separation technology and the subsequent use of the hydrogen (including its
required purity) and the residual gas (which still contains some hydrogen). However, overall
air quality benefits (especially lower sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and particulate emis-
sions) can arise if hydrogen is subsequently used in transportation and displaces conven-
tional diesel fuel. As with the so-called “greening of gas”, the relative benefits of delivering
hydrogen, say for use in road vehicles, depends on the various considerations, especially the
original source of hydrogen.

26
N Concluding
12
ATURALHY has been a significant project,
with considerable time and effort dedicated
to testing and production of what is a vast array
of data, much of it completely new. It is almost
impossible to summarise the project in a short
remarks
space and, in fact, unfair to do so. Indeed care
must be taken in looking at summary results
from this project and jumping to simple conclu-
sions.
The data are often complex, with many pro-
visos, given the immensity of what has been at-
tempted and, in general, successfully achieved.
The reader is, therefore urged not to grasp at
what looks like a favourable or even an unfa-
vourable result, without a deeper analysis of the
specific system under consideration.
Nevertheless, some attempt must be made
to condense the key findings of NATURALHY
project. And, whilst they are presented below,
they should be read while bearing in mind the
qualifying remarks outlined previously:
1. With regard to pipeline durability, results
show that effects on pipe materials used in the
natural gas grids, caused by hydrogen, can be
mitigated by appropriate measures. Modifica-
tions to maintain a safe and reliable supply of
customers with natural gas / hydrogen mixtures
will mainly be necessary for the transportation
pipelines made of steel, but importantly, no
"show‑stoppers" have been identified.
2. Considering integrity, the material in-
vestigations revealed that additional measures
will be required to ensure the integrity of steel
pipelines, when hydrogen is transported by the
existing natural gas system. Consequently the
pipeline integrity management systems (PIMS)
in place need to be adapted. Modifications will
be necessary for wider aspects of the existing
PIMS as defects that are currently not the cen-
tre of attention need to be considered, when hy-
drogen is transported. Summarising the results
overall, appropriate pipeline integrity manage-
ment can be put in place to permit the trans-
portation of natural gas and hydrogen mixtures.
3. It was anticipated that adding hydrogen
to the gas infrastructure may affect both the
likelihood and severity of untoward events and, Gas flame inside the gas boiler

27
 hence, potentially increase the risk to the pub-
lic. In this regard, the NATURALHY project has
established:
 that escapes of natural gas/hydrogen
mixtures within buildings behave in a similar
way to natural gas, in terms of the nature of
the gas/air mixture produced. However, the gas
concentration and volume of the accumulation
increases as hydrogen is added but these in-
creases are slight for hydrogen addition up to
50% by volume
 within buildings, severity of explosions
increases if hydrogen is added to natural gas.
However, the increase is only slight for hydro-
gen addition up to 20%. Analysis has suggested
that the explosion frequency could increase by
up to a factor of 2 as a result of adding up to
20% by volume hydrogen to natural gas. How-
ever, the current risk is very low and even with
doubling the risk remains within generally ac-
ceptable limits
 from the point of view of the pipeline op-
erator, the principal hazard posed by the failure
of transmission pipelines is that of a large fire.
Results suggest that the addition of hydrogen
increases the risk to an individual at locations
near the pipeline but decreases the risk at loca-
tions further away, as the extent of the hazard-
ous region is reduced
 pipeline operators need to assess the
background level of leakage from their pipeline
networks, since methane is a greenhouse gas. A
study of the expected background level of leak-
age has shown that the level of leakage overall
is very small and poses no hazard from a safety
point of view. Indeed, the addition of hydrogen
results in a slight decrease in the level of meth-
ane emissions to the atmosphere from the gas
infrastructure, which is beneficial from an envi-
ronmental perspective
4. For domestic appliances, personal health
and home safety are at stake and tens of mil-
lions of appliances are involved in any given
country; as a consequence, particular attention
has been paid to domestic appliances and it is
important to note that
 the maximum hydrogen concentration
for the domestic market in any country is deter-

28
mined by the safe operation of properly adjusted
conventional domestic appliances as well as by the
local conditions of natural gas quality (range and
current value of Wobbe Index)
 for properly adjusted appliances and
favourable conditions of natural gas quality,
conventional domestic appliances can accom-
modate up to 20% of hydrogen
 for poorly adjusted appliances and/or un-
favourable conditions of natural gas quality, no
hydrogen admixture is allowed
 stationary gas engines and gas turbines
need readjustment and/or modification
 feedstock processing and industrial com-
bustion applications require case-by-case con-
sideration.
5. Gas quality issues have been considered,
both in the case of adding hydrogen to the natu-
ral gas network, and also the effect on down-
Gas Wellhead
stream gas quality as hydrogen is selectively
withdrawn by end users. In a scenario where end
users at different points in the network may be
taking out hydrogen at different quantities and
qualities, there will be an effect on the gas qual- Natural gas pump and distribution station
ity of the remaining mixture. However, analysis
shows that the downstream gas quality will not
be adversely affected since the Wobbe index
and heating value will not be outside the statu-
tory requirements.
6. The Decision Support Tool (DST) has two
functions: to inform what is expected in mate-
rial and device behaviour at particular hydrogen
percentages; and to simulate, using its "what-if"
analysis, the actual pipeline degradation behav-
iour over certain periods of time.
The analysis comprises risk assessment,
cost assessment, evaluation, and proposal of
rules, guidelines and procedures that will miti-
gate the expected increase of risk and/or costs
when applying the gas mixture to the pipeline
network.
It also provides a comprehensive toolbox
that enables the user to simulate a Gas Trans-
port Network (GTN) to enable comparisons be-
tween a GTN with or without hydrogen addition.
The DST is extremely flexible and is able to carry
out GTN simulation and comparison of any two

29
configurations over a period of up to 50
years, yielding cost, safety and integrity
calculations for all selected sections.
7. The potential benefits of adding
hydrogen to the natural gas system have
been addressed by life cycle and socio-
economic assessment and it has been
possible to quantify benefits. However,
the following conclusions are, necessar-
ily, qualitative:
 the addition of hydrogen to natu-
ral gas can make a significant reduction
in total greenhouse gas emissions if it is
sourced from certain forms of biomass
(forestry residues, straw and miscan-
thus), wind power (both onshore and off-
shore) and nuclear power. Depending on
circumstances, hydrogen production from
fossil fuels with carbon capture and stor-
age (CCS) also offers some advantages.
However, reductions in total greenhouse
gas emissions with these sources of hy-
drogen are generally lower
 potential benefits of selective ex-
traction of hydrogen depend on the ac-
tual performance of the separation tech-
nology and the subsequent use of the
hydrogen (including its required purity)
and the residual gas (which still contains
some hydrogen). However, overall air Silver Gas Plant Towers
quality benefits (especially lower sulphur
dioxide, oxides of nitrogen and particu-
late emissions) can arise if hydrogen is
subsequently used in transportation and
displaces conventional diesel fuel Three natural gas burners with bright blue flames inside
an operating gas furnace
 the addition of hydrogen can be
an effective means of "greening" natu-
ral gas so that the mixture is used di-
rectly in existing appliances for heat
production and electricity generation.
With this option, the potential benefits
are mainly as a practical measure for
mitigating global climate change and in-
creasing energy security, depending on
the original source of the hydrogen.

30
Project Co-ordinator
N.V. Nederlandse Gasunie

Work Package Leaders:

University of Oxford,
GDF SUEZ,
Loughborough University,
DBI-GUT,
Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade (ISQ),
GERG - The European Gas Research Group,
EXERGIA

Other Project Partners:

BP Gas Marketing,
Centro Sviluppo Materiali (CSM),
Cogen Europe,
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA),
Compagnie Européenne des Technologies de l’Hydrogène (CETH),
Computational Mechanics International (CMI),
Danish Gas Technology Centre (DGC),
TNO Science & Industry,
Ecole Nationale d’ingenieur de Metz (ENIM),
Energy Research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN),
General Electric PII,
UCB Högskolan i Borås,
Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP),
Istanbul Gas Distribution (IDGAS),
National Grid,
National Technical University of Athens (NTUA),
Naturgas Midt-Nord,
Nederlands Normalisatie-Instituut (NEN),
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),
Planungsgruppe Energie und Technik (Planet),
Hellenic Gas Transmission System Operator (DESFA),
SAVIKO Consultants,
Shell Hydrogen,
SQS Portugal,
Statoil,
Technical University Berlin,
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE),
Total,
Turkish Scientific and Technical Research Council (TUBITAK),
University of Leeds,
X/Open Company Ltd
 NATURALHY
is an Integrated Project funded
by the European Commission’s
Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006)
for research, technological development
and demonstration (RTD)