New in Gas Processing Technology

A. Blume, Editor-in-Chief

Petronas picks Gasconsult’s ZR-LNG as technology challenge winner

Gasconsult Ltd., the developers of the ZR-LNG dual-methane open-cycle natural gas liquefaction process, was selected by Malaysia’s Petronas as the winner of the 10th Petronas Technology Challenge. The challenge seeks to identify innovative solutions for Petronas’ complex business challenges.

In Technology Challenge 10, Petronas was looking for a solution to the large footprint and high equipment count associated with conventional liquefaction schemes, which are challenging for offshore applications and result in unattractive economics.

Petronas, a world leader in offshore floating liquefaction, found Gasconsult Ltd.’s Zero Refrigerant LNG (ZR-LNG) to be the most suitable solution because it is compact and comes with minimal equipment count.

Snam, Baker Hughes test world’s first hydrogen blend turbine for gas networks

Baker Hughes and Snam announced in late July the successful completion of testing of the world’s first “hybrid” hydrogen turbine designed for a gas network. The test paves the way to implement the adoption of hydrogen blended with natural gas in Snam’s transmission network infrastructure.

The test took place at Baker Hughes’ facility in Florence, Italy with a Baker Hughes NovaLT12 gas turbine. The test marks the first time that a gas infrastructure operator such as Snam has tested this type of turbine for its existing assets. The turbine will be installed by 2021 at Snam’s compressor station in the province of Treviso, Italy. Once installed, the NovaLT12 will not only help compress and move hydrogen fuel blends through Snam’s transmission network of pipelines, but also the turbine will simultaneously use the fuel to power itself.

Snam has an extensive transmission network of more than 41,000 km globally and a large natural gas storage capacity of 20 Bm³ globally. Today, 70% of Snam’s pipelines are already built with hydrogen-ready pipes to help contribute to the reduction of CO₂ emissions in Italy. The test further validates the viability of Snam’s infrastructure, including the NovaLT12, to support the transition to hydrogen.

By blending 10% hydrogen into the total annual gas capacity transported by Snam, it is estimated that 7 Bm³y of hydrogen could be introduced into the network. This amount represents a reduction of 5 MMt of CO₂ emissions. Snam is among the first companies in the world to have tested the introduction of hydrogen into a high-pressure gas transportation network, first at 5% and subsequently at 10%.

Designed by Baker Hughes, the NovaLT is the industry’s first family of high-performance gas turbines inherently designed for hydrogen, as well as other lower-carbon fuels. The turbines are capable of burning methane gas and hydrogen blends from as little as 5% to as much as 100% hydrogen.

The NovaLT family of turbines is suitable for a variety of applications, including industrial cogeneration,
pipeline and offshore. Compared to other technologies in its class, the NovaLT provides lower consumption, wider operational flexibility, lower maintenance intervals, and emissions as low as single-digit ppm.

The successful test followed a few days after the launch of the European Commission’s Hydrogen Strategy, which establishes intermediate goals for the production of renewable hydrogen in Europe including the production of at least 40 GW of hydrogen from renewables by 2030. GP