Effect of Operating Parameters on the Injection of Carbon Dioxide and Sour Gas as Cushion Gas in the Process of Underground Hydrogen Gas Storage

Ramsari, Mohammad; Jafari, Arezou; Namdar, Hamed; Khoozan, Davood; Roomi, Aras

Effect of Operating Parameters on the Injection of Carbon Dioxide and Sour Gas as Cushion Gas in the Process of Underground Hydrogen Gas Storage

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

M. Ramsari ¹

A. Jafari ¹

H. Namdar ¹

D. Khoozan ¹

A. Roomi ²

¹ Petroleum Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

² Petroleum Engineering and Development Company (PEDEC), Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Research topic:

The disparity between supply and demand is one of the main obstacles in transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Underground hydrogen storage derived from renewable sources is a suitable method for storing energy from these sources. However, a portion of the stored gas remains in the reservoir as cushion gas, which can add to the operational costs. It is therefore recommended to replace this cushion gas with less expensive alternatives, such as CO₂ or sour gas, to reduce these costs. Nevertheless, this replacement can affect the purity and recovery factor of hydrogen, which can be controlled by specific operating parameters. This study will investigate how these parameters can be adjusted to maintain high purity and recovery factor for stored hydrogen.

Research Method:

In this section, a model of a partially depleted gas reservoir was initially constructed using the commercial simulator CMG. Following validation, this model was employed to evaluate the desired parameters. For this purpose, approximately 50% of the reservoir was depleted initially, followed by the injection of the cushion gas for one year. Subsequently, the hydrogen storage process was conducted over a period of 10 years. This research investigates the impact of various parameters, including the duration and rate of hydrogen injection and production, the soaking time and duration of cushion gas injection, the utilization of sour gas as the cushion gas, and the concentration of H₂S within it, on the purity and recovery factor of the produced hydrogen.

Main results:

The results showed that increasing the rate of hydrogen injection and production enhances its purity and recovery factor. Reducing the injection period while increasing the extraction period decreases purity but improves recovery, provided that the extraction period does not exceed the injection period. Extending the cushion gas injection time and the interval between injection and hydrogen storage supports the purity and recovery factor of hydrogen. Additionally, in the cushion gas composition, increasing the proportion of H₂S above 70% in the sour gas mixture reduces hydrogen purity and recovery by approximately 2% and 3%, respectively, confirming the potential of H₂S as a cushion gas.

Keywords

Underground hydrogen gas storage

Cushion gas

Sour gas

Renewable Energy

energy storage

Subjects

Petroleum Engineering

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