Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture

The decarbonisation of many sectors of the economy, including primarily the energy sector, results in the gradual elimination of hydrocarbon fuels, especially coal. During the transition period, it will be possible to use natural gas, the combustion of which is associated with lower carbon dioxide e...

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Main Authors: Andrzej Rusin, Katarzyna Stolecka-Antczak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-03-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2472
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author Andrzej Rusin
Katarzyna Stolecka-Antczak
author_facet Andrzej Rusin
Katarzyna Stolecka-Antczak
author_sort Andrzej Rusin
collection DOAJ
description The decarbonisation of many sectors of the economy, including primarily the energy sector, results in the gradual elimination of hydrocarbon fuels, especially coal. During the transition period, it will be possible to use natural gas, the combustion of which is associated with lower carbon dioxide emissions. Further reduction in this emission is possible with the use of mixtures of natural gas with other gases, e.g., ammonia. Ammonia, widely used in many industries, has recently been described as the emission-free fuel of the future. However, both of these gases are hazardous substances. Natural gas is a flammable gas and ammonia is a toxic gas. This paper presents an assessment of the transport safety of natural gas (methane) and its mixture with ammonia. The uncontrolled release of these substances from a damaged gas pipeline may cause a fire or a toxic hazard. This work presents hazard zones arising in the event of such a failure and determines the impact of various mixture compositions on the level of the potential hazard. The level of risk related to the uncontrolled release of a mixture of natural gas and ammonia was analysed. It has been estimated that for pipelines with a diameter of 400 mm and a low-pressure mixture of methane and ammonia in the proportion of 50/50 <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>, the danger zone with the risk of loss of life above 1 × 10<sup>−3</sup> is approximately 50 m. In the case of the same pipelines transmitting the mixture of these high-pressure gases, the high-risk zone may extend to approximately 175 m.
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spelling doaj.art-e09b5355ebe0483f93b0f73bc857af212023-11-17T07:39:04ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-03-01165247210.3390/en16052472Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia MixtureAndrzej Rusin0Katarzyna Stolecka-Antczak1Department of Power Engineering and Turbomachinery, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, PolandDepartment of Power Engineering and Turbomachinery, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18, 44-100 Gliwice, PolandThe decarbonisation of many sectors of the economy, including primarily the energy sector, results in the gradual elimination of hydrocarbon fuels, especially coal. During the transition period, it will be possible to use natural gas, the combustion of which is associated with lower carbon dioxide emissions. Further reduction in this emission is possible with the use of mixtures of natural gas with other gases, e.g., ammonia. Ammonia, widely used in many industries, has recently been described as the emission-free fuel of the future. However, both of these gases are hazardous substances. Natural gas is a flammable gas and ammonia is a toxic gas. This paper presents an assessment of the transport safety of natural gas (methane) and its mixture with ammonia. The uncontrolled release of these substances from a damaged gas pipeline may cause a fire or a toxic hazard. This work presents hazard zones arising in the event of such a failure and determines the impact of various mixture compositions on the level of the potential hazard. The level of risk related to the uncontrolled release of a mixture of natural gas and ammonia was analysed. It has been estimated that for pipelines with a diameter of 400 mm and a low-pressure mixture of methane and ammonia in the proportion of 50/50 <i>v</i>/<i>v</i>, the danger zone with the risk of loss of life above 1 × 10<sup>−3</sup> is approximately 50 m. In the case of the same pipelines transmitting the mixture of these high-pressure gases, the high-risk zone may extend to approximately 175 m.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2472ammonia–methane mixturehazardtoxicfire
spellingShingle Andrzej Rusin
Katarzyna Stolecka-Antczak
Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
Energies
ammonia–methane mixture
hazard
toxic
fire
title Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
title_full Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
title_fullStr Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
title_short Assessment of the Safety of Transport of the Natural Gas–Ammonia Mixture
title_sort assessment of the safety of transport of the natural gas ammonia mixture
topic ammonia–methane mixture
hazard
toxic
fire
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/5/2472
work_keys_str_mv AT andrzejrusin assessmentofthesafetyoftransportofthenaturalgasammoniamixture
AT katarzynastoleckaantczak assessmentofthesafetyoftransportofthenaturalgasammoniamixture