Monitoring Scheme for the Detection of Hydrogen Leakage from a Deep Underground Storage. Part 1: On-Site Validation of an Experimental Protocol via the Combined Injection of Helium and Tracers into an Aquifer

Massive underground storage of hydrogen could be a way that excess energy is produced in the future, provided that the risks of leakage of this highly flammable gas are managed. The ROSTOCK-H research project plans to simulate a sudden hydrogen leak into an aquifer and to design suitable monitoring,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inApplied sciences Vol. 10; no. 17; p. 6058
Main Authors Lafortune, Stéphane, Gombert, Philippe, Pokryszka, Zbigniew, Lacroix, Elodie, Donato, Philippe de, Jozja, Nevila
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.09.2020
Multidisciplinary digital publishing institute (MDPI)
Subjects
Applied geology
Aquifers
Carbon dioxide
Climate change
Dilution
Earth Sciences
Energy storage
Environmental monitoring
Flammability
Flammable gases
Gases
Geology
Groundwater
Helium
Hydrogen
Hydrogen storage
Injection
Leakage
Monitoring
Natural gas
Optimization
Oxidation
protocol
Research projects
Sciences of the Universe
Simulation
Tracers
Underground storage
France
HYDROGEN
UNDERGROUND STORAGE
AQUIFER
LEAKAGE
MONITORING
PROTOCOL
HELIUM
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Summary:Massive underground storage of hydrogen could be a way that excess energy is produced in the future, provided that the risks of leakage of this highly flammable gas are managed. The ROSTOCK-H research project plans to simulate a sudden hydrogen leak into an aquifer and to design suitable monitoring, by injecting dissolved hydrogen in the saturated zone of an experimental site. Prior to this, an injection test of tracers and helium-saturated water was carried out to validate the future protocol related to hydrogen. Helium exhibits a comparable physical behavior but is a non-flammable gas which is preferable for a protocol optimization test. The main questions covered the gas saturation conditions of the water, the injection protocol of 5 m3 of gas saturated water, and the monitoring protocol. Due to the low solubility of both helium and hydrogen, it appears that plume dilution will be more important further than 20 m downstream of the injection well and that monitoring must be done close to the well. In the piezometer located 5 m downstream the injection well, the plume peak is intended to arrive about 1 h after injection with a concentration around 1.5 mg·L−1. Taking these results into account should make it possible to complete the next injection of hydrogen.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app10176058