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To: Sid Turtlman who wrote (1847)	7/10/1999 6:54:00 PM
From: Rickmas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 2513

I claim "Natural gas can be mixed with pure hydrogen. Systems that operate on natural gas can be easily modified to accept this mixture." Sid asks: ...Is this actually being done in any natural gas pipeline yet? ...I know that one of the problems of dealing with H2 is that, because the molecules are so small, anything containing it must be well sealed; are the pipelines sealed enough as is, or must they be modified to prevent the hydrogen from escaping? --Not that I know of. It requires a new technology developed by Drs. Heffel and Norbecht of UC Riverside CE-CERT. This is a sensor/computer control device that detects the mix ratio in a compressed tank and adjusts an internal combustion engine for optimum operation. You are correct that hydrogen has always been a problem to contain in standard gas pipes because of its small molecular size. Fuel cells essentially run on hydrogen so hydrogen-rich natural gas should not pose extreme difficulty, if any. We are looking at hydrogen infusion in natural gas pipelines. Some loss can be acceptable. Is the H2 a liquid when mixed with the natural gas, or done as a gas at normal temperatures? --Produced from an electrolyser using renewables, primarily for now using off-peak hydro, the hydrogen would be strictly gas. Freezing the hydrogen is extremely wasteful in energy terms. Also, when H2 gets mixed in, does it stay mixed in the same ratio, or might different customers end up with different H2 concentrations, depending on where they were on the pipeline? --I believe it mixes well - very well - in a natural gas pipeline. However, since the sensor works close to real time, minor fluctuations would not be a problem. Uneven distribution to customers equipped with sensor controllers would not be a problem. I believe it would be impossible to get major fluctuations with a steady infusion of hydrogen. Maximum hydrogen concentration in residential pipelines might be limited to the point where sensor/controller failure results in loss of efficiency rather than higher levels where a dangerous situation might occur. But, again, it depends on the application. For dedicated lines for residential fuel cells and home refueling of vehicles, it wouldn't matter. While mixing in H2 would be a plus for fuel cells, would it be a negative for products that currently consume pipeline natural gas? For example, would home appliances run just as well with the mix as they do on plain old pipeline gas? Would that continue to be the case as the percentage of H2 increased? --You certainly wouldn't want to get too high a concentration of hydrogen in a conventional stove, oven or water heater that was designed for pure natural gas, but I would think the mix could be significant without causing problems. I am thinking mostly of NG fuel cell and IC NG vehicle applications. There is a lot of ongoing research work being done in these areas. I expect some demonstration/validation projects will evolve in the near future to define the limits of practical usage. --Rickmas