The Possibility of Energy Generation within the Conventional Natural Gas Transport System

Original scientific paper The paper presents the possibility of electricity generation at the pressure reduction stations (PRS) in the conventional system of natural gas transmission and distribution. The main deficiency of the conventional system is its thermodynamic irreversibility, i.e. the loss of potential work that could be generated while reducing the gas pressure. Within the first part of work, a thermodynamic model was created to analyze changes in energy and exergy within the gas transport system. The second part of work deals with the application of turboexpanders (expansion turbines) which may be used to generate electricity while reducing the gas pressure. A thermodynamic model of the turboexpander system was created and the relevant thermodynamic indicators were defined. Case studies for two different PRS were performed to analyze the thermodynamic quality and the economic feasibility of turboexpander application for varying design parameters, i.e. the gas preheating rate and the expander isentropic efficiency.