【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】100 Days of Safe Operation for CNPC Gansu Company’s Natural Gas Hydrogen Blending Pilot Project: A Major Milestone Towards Commercial Operation Achieved

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Let’s give praise and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment. Your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement**********************【Ten Years of Progress in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Regular updates and summaries are available; feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** On November 27th, the group’s first industrial park gas hydrogen blending demonstration project, led by Gansu Company, operated safely and stably for 100 days. This achievement marked a crucial step forward from experimental testing to commercial operation, providing important support for the development of a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient energy system. Laying a solid foundation for safety and overcoming key technical challenges – As China National Petroleum Corporation’s first demonstration project in the field of hydrogen blending in industrial gas use, this project has been underway since December 2024. It aims to accelerate the company’s transformation through the use of new forms of productive capacity, addresses the needs related to the utilization of new energy sources and energy transition in the northwest region, and relies on the regional resource advantages to pursue a technological approach that integrates industry, academia, research, and practical application. The \"intelligent control high-precision uniform mixing process with adaptive fixed ratio\" developed independently by the project team incorporates advanced algorithms, enabling precise regulation of the hydrogen blending ratio within the range of 5% to 20%. The daily flow rate can reach 2,000 to 3,000 standard cubic meters, and the system operates in a stable and efficient manner. Faced with safety challenges such as the easy leakage of hydrogen and its wide explosive range, the project team members worked tirelessly, recording and optimizing parameters for 72 consecutive hours during the debugging phase, and successfully overcame the difficulty of achieving precise control over the hydrogen mixing ratio. Establish a monitoring system to strengthen the commercial foundation. The intelligent monitoring system deployed throughout the project lifecycle enables real-time collection of parameters such as pressure, flow rate, and temperature by installing sensors at key points, and it also features functions for leak detection. Leveraging this system, the project team further developed quantitative relationship models linking the calorific value, cost, selling price of hydrogen-blended natural gas to the hydrogen blending ratio, thereby formulating trade settlement recommendations that lay the foundation for the commercial operation of the project. To overcome technical barriers and enhance safety measures in engineering applications, the project has carried out research on leak detection and safety protection for natural gas stations and pipelines with hydrogen blending, identifying the leakage characteristics of the system at pressures ranging from 0 to 2 megapascals under different hydrogen blending ratios. It also enables precise determination of the spread range of hydrogen, providing a reliable basis for engineering design and safety assessments. In the field tests conducted by Gansu Dongyi Fine Chemicals Company, the project team increased the hydrogen blending ratio to 25%, verifying the good compatibility of existing gas equipment with gas containing a wide range of hydrogen concentrations; this provided technical support for the low-carbon transformation of existing facilities. Significant emission reduction efforts are contributing to a green transformation. At a 20% hydrogen blending ratio, carbon emissions from the end-use combustion equipment are reduced by approximately 19%, while nitrogen oxide emissions remain below 50 milligrams per standard cubic meter. With the use of flue gas recirculation technology, these emission levels are further reduced, resulting in notable environmental benefits for this project. Based on a hydrogen incorporation ratio of 20%, and assuming an annual gas consumption of 50 million cubic meters in the old urban area of Yumen, it is possible to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by around 9,000 tons per year. This amount is equivalent to the carbon sequestration capacity of 500,000 trees, providing a viable path for high-energy-consuming enterprises to achieve green transformation. The demonstration effect is significant, drawing considerable attention from the industry. Since its operation, the project has attracted various government agencies and enterprises, including the Gansu Provincial Energy Bureau, Gansu Jinchuan Company, Shaanxi Gas Group, and the Yangjiang Municipal Government of Guangdong Province, for inspections and exchanges. Industry experts say that, from its technical approach to its operational model, this project provides important references for future implementation. At this new starting point of 100 days of safe operation, the project team has begun to work on promoting its wider application. The project leader said, “What has been gained over these 100 days is not only technical experience but also a deep understanding of the hydrogen incorporation industry; we have now developed a replicable and scalable comprehensive solution.” ”As the \"dual carbon\" strategy advances, gas hydrogen blending technology will play an increasingly important role in the adjustment of the energy structure. Gansu Company is taking concrete actions to contribute its expertise and efforts to the development of a modern energy system. Back to International Hydrogen Energy Network