Hydrogen Blended Natural Gas

Why in news?

• Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL) has started India’s first-of-its-kind project to mix hydrogen into natural gas system at Indore, Madhya Pradesh.

More about news:

• GAIL started “hydrogen blending programme”, in line with National Hydrogen Mission.
• Hydrogen blending programme was started as a pilot project to establish techno-commercial feasibility of blending hydrogen in City Gas Distribution (CGD) network.
• Initially it is the grey hydrogen that is blended. It will subsequently be replaced by green hydrogen.

What is Hydrogen Blending?

• Hydrogen energy is a viable solution for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and decarbonizing a number of energy sectors.
• One of the measures to phase hydrogen into the energy sector is though natural gas/hydrogen (NG/H2) blending.
• As the name would suggest, NG/H2 blending integrates concentrations of hydrogen into existing natural gas pipelines in order to reduce the carbon intensity of the methane.
• This blending carries the hydrogen and natural gas mix to the intended location.

Green Hydrogen versus Grey Hydrogen:

• The sources and processes, by which hydrogen is derived, are categorised by colour tabs.
• Grey Hydrogen:
  • Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels is called grey hydrogen; this constitutes the bulk of the hydrogen produced today.
• Blue Hydrogen:
  • Hydrogen generated from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage options is called blue hydrogen.
• Green Hydrogen:
  • Hydrogen generated entirely from renewable power sources is called green hydrogen. Electricity generated from renewable energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Which of the following statements are correct regarding Green Hydrogen?

1. It is produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen

2. It can be transformed into electricity or synthetic gas

3. It can be mixed with  natural gas to burn thermal power plant

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer