Intelligent Hydrogen Gas Monitoring in Natural Gas/Hydrogen Blending

Abstract Hydrogen energy is a viable solution for reducing society's dependence on fossil fuels and decarbonizing several energy sectors such as solar, wind, and nuclear. One method actively being pursued to phase hydrogen into the energy sector is natural gas/hydrogen (NG/H2) blending. As the name suggests, NG/H2 blending integrates concentrations of hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines to reduce the carbon concentration of methane. This blending carries the hydrogen and natural gas mix to municipal utility scales for extraction and consumer end-use. However, there are potential risks transporting hydrogen using the existing natural gas pipeline network. These include leakage, gas buildup, hydrogen embrittlement, and explosion threats to property and life near natural gas transmission pipelines. If these are to be utilized, there will be a critical need to provide "real-time" hydrogen monitoring capabilities for NG/H2 blends throughout the Nation's natural gas transportation and storage infrastructure. Moreover, the US natural gas transportation system is expansive. It requires a complex sensor network that can continuously monitor, record, and notify specific NG/H2 conditions at various pipeline locations to operators and managers. This paper describes the limited scale work, development, and potential "real-time" hydrogen detection and monitoring in NG/H2 blends using an intelligent optical sensor system. The transport efficiency of the pipeline, safety aspects, and in particular, questions about the capability of existing and new infrastructure to safely use NG/H2 mixtures as fuel will be addressed in this paper.