PR592-242009-R01 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models

Reducing greenhouse gas emission from pipeline compressor stations is a critical challenge for operators. Traditional approaches to emissions reduction often depend on hardware upgrades that require capital investment and downtime. When considering alternative methods for emissions reduction, such as varying the operations of existing equipment, the task is complicated by the diversity of gas turbine and compressor manufacturers and models in service, each with distinct operational characteristics and performance behaviors. Operators need practical tools to identify how to dispatch their existing stations to reduce full and part load greenhouse gas emission without downtime or capital-intensive modifications.

This report describes a spreadsheet-based tool developed to meet this need. The tool evaluates station operating conditions and recommends station setpoints that minimize greenhouse gas emissions while meeting throughput requirements and respecting equipment operational constraints. It generates optimized dispatch schedules across available units, identifying how gas flow can be best allocated to minimize greenhouse gas emissions across the station’s operational range. The report describes the development and validation of supporting models, the design of the optimization framework, and example case studies demonstrating its application to representative stations.

The report aims to help pipeline engineers, planners, and operations personnel understand how to deploy the spreadsheet-based tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with existing assets. With the developed tool, they can evaluate station performance, develop dispatch schedules, and implement operational strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emission while maintaining station throughput.

The zipped deliverable package, PR592-242009-Z01 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models, contains the following files:

– Final Report – PR592-242009-R01 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models.pdf

– Optimization Tool User Guide – PR592-242009-M01 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models User Guide.pdf

– Excel-based Spreadsheet Optimization Tool – PR592-242009-E01 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models.xlsm

– Alternate version of the Excel-based Spreadsheet Optimization Tool without compressor map plotting, for compatibility with older excel versions – PR592-242009-E04 GHG Reduction at Compressor Stations Using Optimization with Physics-Informed Models NO MAPS.xlsm