Introduction for Concept Design for Hydrogen Mixing in Natural Gas Supply Station and Study of Static Mixer for Securing Gas Quality

The government launched the “City Gas&Hydrogen Mixing Demonstration Promotion Team” in February 2022 to conduct a legal maintenance and demonstration research related to hydrogen mixing. The team is currently reviewing hydrogen mixing technology utilizing existing natural gas pipelines and safety including hydrogen embrittlement. In line with this government policy, Korea Gas Corporation is conducting various research and development to increase hydrogen utilization and align with the national energy policy direction by mixing hydrogen into natural gas using existing natural gas supply infrastructure and utilizing it in combined power generation facilities. In order to supply mixed gas by injecting hydrogen into natural gas pipelines, study on various mixing technologies such as analysis of hydrogen interchangeability of existing natural gas infrastructure, material balance analysis according to fluid change, and securing gas quality is necessary. In this paper, we introduce the concept of the hydrogen mixing process of the natural gas supply management station and the types of static mixers that can smoothly mix natural gas and hydrogen, evenly distribute the mixed gas concentration in the pipeline, and secure gas quality, and analyze the most suitable mixer through flow analysis.