Senator tours UTulsa hydrogen blending research facility

TULSA, Okla., Sept. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — On Thursday, U.S. Sen. James Lankford received a demonstration of the latest hydrogen blending project underway in The University of Tulsa’s College of Engineering & Computer Science.

Research is being conducted at UTulsa’s North Campus that explores how to effectively add hydrogen into natural gas pipelines. Blending hydrogen into a natural gas pipeline reduces carbon emissions by replacing a portion of the methane in the gas with hydrogen, which produces no carbon dioxide when burned. However, the effectiveness depends on the percentage of hydrogen added and potential leakage and material fatigue issues within the pipeline system.

“The University of Tulsa has unique equipment and facilities to explore solutions to complex problems within the energy industry. A company in need of relatively quick test results can come to us, and we have the infrastructure in place to respond,” said ECS Dean Andreas A. Polycarpou. “North Campus is an outstanding experiential environment, and our faculty are some of the brightest minds in petroleum, mechanical, and chemical engineering as well as cyber studies. From Fortune 100 corporations to niche firms, industry partners know they can rely on UTulsa.”

University researchers are working on the project with Tulsa-based Sagebrush, LLC, a leading name in the pipeline industry since 1961. Among other products, Sagebrush designs and fabricates gas and liquid measurement systems, control valve systems, and pressure control systems for transmission pipeline and midstream companies. Sagebrush also manufactures Aether DBS’ engineered modular systems – including natural gas line heaters, gas blenders, fuel gas vaporizers and conditioning equipment – for energy, power, and utility customers.

“Hydrogen blending is a hot topic for many of our customers,” said Sagebrush CEO Tom Blair. “We approached TU two years ago, and we have already completed phase one of the testing. We expect results early next year on the second phase, which will begin shortly.”

Blair said most of Sagebrush’s customers don’t have a facility that compares to North Campus. Instead, the company can work with the university to pinpoint precisely how much hydrogen to blend in the natural gas pipelines for maximum results with minimum complications.

Professor of Petroleum Engineering Cem Sarica is the lead investigator on the project. He said the small, cooperative nature of the college lends itself to advancing research on a compressed timeline to meet the needs of corporate partners.