Multi-period optimal infrastructure planning of natural gas pipeline network system integrating flowrate allocation

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) 2022-10, Vol.257, p.124745, Article 124745
• Main Authors: Wen, Kai, Lu, Yangfan, Lu, Meitong, Zhang, Wenwei, Zhu, Ming, Qiao, Dan, Meng, Fanpeng, Zhang, Jing, Gong, Jing, Hong, Bingyuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Flowrate allocation; Infrastructure planning; MILP model; Natural gas; Pipeline network
• ISSN: 0360-5442
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2022.124745

The purpose of flow allocation is to give full play to the transmission capacity of the pipeline network system and complete the transportation task with less operation cost. When the flow allocation cannot balance the changes of upstream gas source and downstream demand, the pipeline network system needs to be planned and constructed. Therefore, this paper aims to propose an optimization method allowing the simultaneous optimization of infrastructure planning and the flowrate allocation in each decide cycle by explicit consideration of the corresponding operational constraints. The constraints include the limit of gas supply and user demand, the transmission capacity of pipeline network, the balance of node flowrate, and the capacity of gas storage. The injection, storage and production capacity of gas storage is considered. A case study including multi scene settings shows the feasibility of the proposed method. The results show that compared with the annual scale, the half-year scale can better consider the peak regulation effect of gas storage, and the utilization rate of gas storage is improved by 12.88%. Multiple options that allow for both expansion and new pipelines are more economical than a single option. Specifically, the total cost under multi-option planning is 8.24% lower than only expansion is allowed, and 8.32% lower than only new construction is allowed. In addition, the sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the impact of the unit pipeline transmission cost, unit construction cost and lead time of pipeline on the pipeline construction scheme. The improvement of gas storage utilization rate, gas storage operation and pipeline network transmission capacity verify that the proposed planning model has the ability to improve the system operation efficiency and reduce the total cost. •A multi-period planning model integrating flowrate allocation is proposed.•The injection, storage and production capacity of gas storage is considered.•A case study for multi-scene settings shows the feasibility of the proposed method.•Sensitivity analysis shows the impact of various factors on the optimal results.