Hydrogen’s potential to decarbonize energy-intensive industries has led to an increased interest in expanding the supply chain and developing the infrastructure needed to produce, store, and transport the gas. Sargent & Lundy has been at the forefront of engineering and design for hydrogen systems for decades and recently collaborated with the Electric Power Research Institute’s Low Carbon Resources Initiative to study the potential costs and impacts of using existing natural gas compressors to transport hydrogen along gas transmission pipelines.
Sargent & Lundy’s Robert Schroeder will present findings of the study April 7 at the GPA Midstream Technical Conference in Plano, Texas. The conference runs through April 10 and will feature dozens of research papers offering insights into industry challenges.
Schroeder’s presentation, “Repurposing Existing Natural Gas Compressor Stations for Hydrogen and Hydrogen-Natural Gas Blends,” examines the effects of introducing more hydrogen into compressor-driven pipelines and the levels of hydrogen that necessitate different compressor station upgrades. The study provides information not only on the type of upgrades needed, but also the effect on pipeline flow capacity (throughput) and the estimated capital and operating costs involved.
Schroeder holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and has co-authored several research papers on heat transfer, compressible flow, and fluid transient modeling. He has more than a decade of experience and has worked on numerous power generation and fuel system projects around the world. He is a subject matter specialist for compression and compressible gas flow including with natural gas, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and other fluids.