Industrial gas supplier Linde has started up a pilot plant that separates hydrogen from natural gas streams.

Hydrogen can be safely blended at volumes of up to 20pc in natural gas pipelines, and potentially at an even higher level if upgrades are made to infrastructure.

Linde’s technology would enable this blended hydrogen to be removed in a pure form.

“The Hiselect demonstration in Dormagen allows us to display essential technology for transporting hydrogen via natural gas pipelines in a real-life setting,” says John van der Velden, senior vice-president of global sales & technology at Linde Engineering.

“It shows a way to leverage existing infrastructure. In doing so we avoid the high costs and the long process that would be involved in building a dedicated hydrogen pipeline infrastructure.”

“[Hiselect] shows a way to leverage existing infrastructure” Van Der Velden, Linde

The process can extract gas blended at volumes of between 5pc and 60pc. Membranes are used to extract hydrogen from natural gas streams at the point of consumption at 90pc purity.

When further processed with Linde Engineering’s pressure swing adsorption technology, a purity of up to 99.9999 percent can be achieved. 

If the pilot is successful and the technology deployed at a commercial scale, it would mean hydrogen produced in a region with low-cost renewable generation could be transported via a natural gas pipeline network and purified to decarbonise an industrial unit in another region.

Strengthening the spine

In Europe, a number of  transmission system operators are working on creating the European Hydrogen Backbone. Their aim is to build and expand a functional hydrogen network, based largely on repurposed existing natural gas infrastructure.

Membrane technology such as Hiselect could be integral for efficiently transporting hydrogen to end users for use as an industry feedstock, as a source of heat and power, or as a transportation fuel, says Linde.

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Author: Tom Young