Experimental Study of Hydrogen Distribution in Natural Gas under Static Conditions
Mengjie Wang1, Jingfa Li2,*, Bo Yu2, Nianrong Wang3, Xiaofeng Wang3, Tao Hu4
1 School of Mechanical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, 102617, China
2 School of Petroleum Engineering, Yangtze University, Wuhan, 430100, China
3 PetroChina Planning and Engineering Institute, Beijing, 100083, China
4 Changqing Engineering Design Co., Ltd., Xi’an, 710018, China
* Corresponding Author: Jingfa Li. Email: 
(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Theoretical Foundations and Applications of Multiphase Flow in Pipeline Engineering)
Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing https://doi.org/10.32604/fdmp.2025.071675
Received 10 August 2025; Accepted 06 November 2025; Published online 08 December 2025
Abstract
The adaptation of existing natural gas pipelines for hydrogen transportation has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Yet, whether hydrogen and natural gas stratify under static conditions remains a subject of debate, and experimental evidence is still limited. This study presents an experimental investigation of the concentration distribution of hydrogen–natural gas mixtures under static conditions. Hydrogen concentration was measured using a KTL-2000M-H hydrogen analyzer, with a measurement range of 0–30% (by volume), an accuracy of 1% full scale (FS), and a resolution of 0.01%. Experiments were conducted in a 300 cm riser, filled with uniformly mixed hydrogen–methane standard gas, under various static conditions, including different hydrogen blending ratios (5.03%, 10.03%, and 19.79%), pressures (0.5 MPa, 2 MPa, and 4 MPa), and inclination angles (0°, 45°, and 90°). Results show that, at identical pressures and an inclination angle of 90°, the presence of hydrogen at both ends of the riser remain nearly the same, indicating that the blending ratio exerts no significant influence on stratification. Moreover, across different pressures, the composition of the mixture remains highly uniform, with the maximum difference between the top and bottom of the riser limited to approximately 0.02%, well within the instrument’s margin of error—demonstrating that pressure has a negligible effect on hydrogen stratification. Similarly, variations in inclination angle exert minimal influence on hydrogen distribution. At 4 MPa, the concentration difference between the top and bottom ranges from 0.01% to 0.02%, confirming the absence of measurable stratification within experimental accuracy.
Keywords
Hydrogen-blended natural gas; hydrogen blending ratio; concentration distribution; hydrogen stratification; riser; inclination angle
Open Access
Login
Register
Submit a Paper
Propose a Special lssue
Download PDF
Downloads
Citation Tools
