Utility Natural Gas Pipe operating pressure 1

[Mbrooke]

Forgive the basic question- but at what pressure do natural gas pipe lines operate at? How many levels are there in pressure reduction?


Ie, in electrical power is typically generated at 18kv, stepped up to 345 or 500kv in North America, then stepped down to 115, 138 or 161kv via auto transformer. 115kv is then stepped down to 13.8kv (12.47, 23kv, 34.5kv are a few other popular voltages also) and runs down streets where it is again stepped down to 120/240 for residential and 120/208Y or 277/480 for commercial. 230kv is also sometimes found in between 500 and 115kv.

 

[LittleInch]

Kind of as many as you want.

The high pressure national distribution system generally runs at 50-80 bar.

A medium pressure regional system might operate around 30-35 bar

Both of those are steel systems usually.

Then you commonly see PE pipe start to come in at around 10 bar then gradual reductions down to 3-400 mbar.

Different utilities have different level but there's nothing usually a s fixed as it is in electrical terms.


Others might have different levels

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Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Mbrooke]

Thank you- perfect explanation


When going from one pressure system to another, is it done via simple regulators like you find on the exterior of a gas service?

https://www.grainger.com/product/SENSUS-Gas-Pressure-Regulator-6DMN7

 

[LittleInch]

Well, large commercial versions yes - control valves usually controlled on downstream pressure

often with actuated valves to close on high high pressure and / or pressure relief valves (doesn't seem to have worked on the recent incident near boston...)

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[zdas04]

MBrooke,
While it is true that changing from one class of service to another will generally have a pressure regulator, good engineers are opportunistic and will try to find take-off points that have not yet been boosted for the next section. For example, the system supplying the city of Bakersfield is on a pipeline heading from New Mexico to the Los Angeles area. On this line there are booster compressor stations at regular intervals to make up for pressure lost to fluid friction. Clever engineers arranged the piping to take the gas for Bakersfield from the suction side of the closest booster station so that they don't have to expend the energy to boost that gas pressure just to drop the pressure with a pressure regulating valve. A nominal 70 bar system will have a range of pressures like LittleInch mentioned.

[bold]David Simpson, PE[/bold]
MuleShoe Engineering

In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual. Galileo Galilei, Italian Physicist