Technical and economic evaluation of the natural gas odorizing process -

the case of Poland

Wojciech J. Kostowski*
Institute of Thermal Technology
Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
e-mail: wojciech.kostowski@polsl.pl

Dariusz Jarczyk
Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company, GSG sp. z o.o.
e-mail: dariusz.jarczyk@gsgaz.pl

Krzysztof Górny
Institute of Thermal Technology
Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland
e-mail: krzysztof.gorny@polsl.pl

ABSTRACT
The paper presents the technical and economic analysis of the natural gas odorizing process
for the case of the Polish gas distribution sector. The significance of odorizing for the safety
of consumers has been explained and the country-specific safety issues have been listed. Due
to historical reasons, tetrahydrothiophene (THT) is used for gas odorizing in Poland at
injection rates slightly higher than in most countries. The majority of the odorizing plants in
Poland are by-pass plants and modern injection plants. By-pass plants have proven their
reliability, however, due to the temperature dependency of the process, yield worse stability
of the resulting odorant concentration and require over-odorizing dose in order to guarantee
the safety of consumers. Injection plants provide very good concentration stability and are
gradually installed as a new standard, although require by-pass plants to be installed in
parallel as emergency devices, which increase the installation cost. The odorizing process
may be carried out by the distribution operator, or by the transmission operator as a
specialized service at system exit points. The price of the service is regulated by the Polish
Energy Regulatory Office; according to results presented in this study, the tariff is balanced
between the transmission and the distribution operator, since the cumulative cash flow
observed from the point of view of the transmission operator may be positive or negative.

KEDYWORDS
natural gas, odorizing, tetrahydrothiophene, transmission and distribution

* Corresponding author
1. INTRODUCTION
Natural gas constitutes both a primary energy resource, acquired from the nature, and a final
energy carrier, supplied to the end-users, such as industry, power plants, and households. In
Poland, the Central European country discussed in the paper, the annual natural gas
consumption is 14.3×109 m3 [1], with the sector breakdown into 49.1% in industry, 28.5% in
households, 10.4% in the tertiary sector and only 10.2% in energy and district heating
generation [2]. The gas consumption per capita is 339 m3/a, i.e. much below the EU25
average (894 m3/a). It should be noted that roughly 90% of the country‟s energy generation is
based on hard coal and lignite from inland production, while the share of gas in the sector is
only 2.6% [3].
The transport and the supply of gas in Poland are carried out by means of 10,452 km
transmission and about 110,000 km distribution pipelines, 19 transmission compressor
stations [4], 8 underground storage facilities with compressor stations [5] and more than 3500
pressure regulating stations (PRS), of which about 1600 PRS‟s are the so-called 1st level city
gate stations with medium-level outlet pressure (around 2.8 bar gauge).
From the point of view of the consumers, natural gas along with its supply is a kind of
product that should meet the requirements of quality (measured by the gross heating value; for
small consumers gas is still traded in cubic metres, not in kWh), reliability (continuity) of
supply and, last but not least, of security. The security of natural gas supply is provided if two
risk factors are controlled properly: the pressure of gas in a multi-stage distribution system,
and the concentration of gas in the air inside buildings and in their proximity.
The pressure of gas is stabilized by means of multiple pressure regulating stations (PRS),
operating with a pressure regulator and/or expander supplied with an overpressure control
system. Due to rigorous design and maintenance requirements established for the PRS
systems, incidents of exceeded supply pressure occur very seldom, and the 2009 case of
overpressure protection system failure in Zielona Góra, Poland, burdened with a loss of one
human life [6] due to exceeded gas pressure in residential buildings, is an exception over
many years of safe system operation.
The key factor bound to the security of supply is the concentration of gas in air in buildings or
other enclosed areas. An explosive atmosphere arises if the concentration of methane (the key
component of natural gas) in air is between 4.6 and 16.8% [7] provided that no other
flammable substances are present. Except for limited industrial zones of explosive
atmospheres (supplied with dedicated electric equipment), the safety of people and integrity
of objects requires therefore the methane concentration in proximity of gas appliances and
pipelines to be maintained much below the lower explosion limit (LEL).
The security of supply is of highest priority for domestic end-users, the most numerous group
of consumers. The number of domestic consumers in Poland is above 6 millions [8]; it should
be noted that the majority of them are exposed to the multiple risk factors bound to the
utilization of natural gas. Several of them are specific for the country and for the region of
Upper Silesia:
– use of gas appliances exclusively indoors, including gas boilers (climate factor);
– use of steel pipes with screw-thread connections in domestic piping installations
(copper pipes are being introduced gradually);
– popularity of gas cookers; many older devices are not supplied with flame safety
systems; the safety of their operation depends on the human factor;
 – the majority of flats in residential buildings are not equipped with methane/smoke
detectors;
– after the fall of communism in 1989, the responsibility for the technical state of gas
appliances and fittings in private houses was ceded to the owners. Before, the
technical state was controlled by the state gas supplier;
– popularity of residential block houses managed by cooperatives, a factor bound to lack
of the sense of responsibility by many individuals.
– in the region of operation of the Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company, there is an
intensive coal mining activity on (under) the area of very high population density.
Another group of safety issues concerns all countries and distribution companies in the world.
If the number of domestic consumers is very large, it can unfortunately be expected that some
individuals may exhibit undesired behaviour. Risk may be posed directly, as in the case of
suicide or sabotage attempts (issues beyond the control of gas network operator), or
indirectly, as in cases of illegal gas consumption, including disassembly of the gas meter and
replacing it with self-made by-passes. The Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company co-
operates with local administration and the police in order to detect and penalize any such
attempts.
Much higher is the percentage of consumers who may generate the risk unintentionally due to
insufficient attention while operating gas devices, in particular gas cookers. To be mentioned
here are such factors as: tiredness, old or very young age, health problems, alcohol
consumption etc.
The abovementioned safety threads should be addressed by both house owners (responsible
for the domestic piping installations, the technical state and the operation of devices) and the
network operator (responsible for pipelines and service lines). However, the network operator
is generally expected to overtake a major part of responsibility for the general safety of
supply.
Currently, the primary safety means undertaken by the operator to prevent the mentioned risks
is the gas odorizing, required for the naturally odourless natural gas. Odorizing is applied in
all countries where natural gas is distributed; however, technical details of the process may
differ as described in section 2. The objective of odorizing is to ensure that flammable gas
concentration in air is detected by means of human olfactory sense when the concentration is
still at a safe level, i.e. much below the LEL.
The aim of the present paper is to provide a comprehensive review of the natural gas
odorizing process in Poland, including the description of odorizing agents and devices, an
analysis of key technical problem and an economic evaluation for chosen case study objects.

2. ODORIZING AGENTS APPLIED IN POLAND AND IN SELECTED OTHER

COUNTRIES
In Poland, as in many European countries, gas odorizing was not required during the first
decades of gas distribution. The first gaseous fuel distributed in local networks was coal gas,
generated in local plants, or obtained as by-product from the coking process. These gases
contained a fraction of sulphur components, providing the fuel with a characteristic and
distinctive smell, which was successively identified by the consumers as „gas smell‟. As the
switch to natural gas was performed (in Poland, after 1980), it was required to odorized the
gas in order to obtain a similar smell as historically accepted by the inhabitants.
Requirements for natural gas odorizing in Poland are determined by the industrial standard
[9]. The smell of the odorizing agent (odorant) should be intensive, distinctive, and
disagreeable and should not be confused with or masked by other smells present in residential
buildings. Moreover, the odorant should not disturb the combustion process, and loose its
odorizing properties once it is burnt.
Currently, organic sulphur compounds (components of formerly applied coal gases) are used
as odorants in most countries. This solution ensures that the resulting smell is correctly
identified as the „gas smell‟. The most widely used sulphur compounds represent the
following groups:
1. alkyl mercaptans:
a. ethyl mercaptan (ethanethiol) C2H6S,
b. n- and iso-propyl mercaptans (1- and 2-propanethiol), C3H8S;
c. tert-butyl mercaptan (2-Methyl-2-propanethiol) TBM, C4H10S
2. alkyl sulphides
a. diethyl sulphide, DMS, C2H6S,
b. diethyl sulphide, C4H10S,
c. methylethyl sulphide C3H8S
3. cyclic sulphides
a. tetrahydrothiophene, C4H8S.
Since the sulphur based odorants contribute to the sulphur dioxide emissions, attention is paid
to sulphur-free odorants, based on acrylates (methyl acrylate, ethyl acrylate). These odorants
are currently being introduced in Germany (patented mixture Gasodor S-Free) and their
extension to other countries should be expected.

Table 1. Odorizing agents used is chosen European countries and the resulting increment in
sulphur concentration in odorized gas [10–18].

Country Odorizing agents Average dosing concentration , mg/m3

of the odorant of sulphur
Poland THT 20–25 9–11
Germany THT / TBM / Gasodor S-Free 19 / 9 / 15 7/3/0
Spain THT > 18 > 6.5
Italy THT / TBMa) 20–32 / 5–8 7–12 / 2–3
UK TBM 80% DMS 20% 4–8 1.5–3
Russia SPMb) mercaptan blend 16 7.2
a)
TBM 77–80%, 2-Propanethiol 16–23%, 1-Propanethiol <4%
b)
Orenburg field natural odorant, main components: Ethyl mercaptan <44%, 2-
Propanethiol, <31%, 1-Butanethiol <11%.
Table 1 presents a list of odorizing agents used in chosen European countries, along with the
corresponding quantity of sulphur. As can be concluded from the table, the application of
mercaptan blends yields lower sulphur content in the odorized gas. Since the problem of TBM
crystallization (melting point at +1°C), is solved by blending the agent with other
components, it may be concluded that the choice of odorants applied in particular countries
depends more on availability and price of the agent and on history of its application.
The odorant concentration results from the requirement that the mixture of odorized gas and
air should exhibit medium odour intensity, when evaluated by individuals with average
olfactory perception, and when the concentration of gas is at the alarm level, defined as 20%
of the LEL. The definition of the odour intensity is presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Definition of odour intensity according to the Oil and Gas Institute (INiG) [9].

Intensity Odour perception

0 Not detectable
0.5 Very weak
1 Weak
2 Moderate
3 Strong
4 Very strong
5 Upper limit of detection

In Poland, the only odorizing agent currently in use is THT. An odorimetric survey performed
by the Oil and Gas Institute (INiG), reported by the technical standard [9] indicate that,
according to responses of the investigated group of individuals, the average odour intensity of
the gas-air mixture at the alarm-level concentration (20% LEL) is an empirical logarithmic
function of THT concentration in natural gas:
I  2.0122 logCTHT / NG   0.001 , (1)
where the odorant concentration in natural gas CTHT/NG should be substituted in milligrams per
normal cubic metre (0°C, 101 325 kPa). From (1) it can be calculated that the minimal
odorant concentration, corresponding to moderate odour intensity (I = 2) is CTHT/NG =
9.9 mg/m3.
The Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company (GSG) performs independent surveys in order
to determine the required (safe) level of odorizing at the given area. It should be noted, that
Upper Silesia is the most urbanized and industrialized area in Poland and one of the most
heavily polluted regions in Europe [19]. Therefore, a higher concentration of odorant may be
required to achieve a corresponding perception, compared to less polluted regions. Indeed, as
the result of GSG‟s survey, the concentration of 14.8 mg/m3 has been found as the required
minimum, and eventually, the concentration of 15.0 mg/m3 has been set as the value required
at network tail-ends.
Since the relationship between the odour intensity and odorant concentration is logarithmic,
excessive odorizing (over-odorizing) does not cause a substantial increase in odour intensity;
however, insufficient odorizing strongly decreases the odour intensity, in the worst case, even
below the perception limit. For this reason, operators of natural gas networks tend to apply a
higher odorant dosing than required in order to account for the inaccuracy of the dosing
process and to compensate the possible drop of concentration along distribution pipelines
(odorant fading).
The problem of odorant fading may be bound to several factors and has a transient character
[20], [21], [22]. Installation of new pipes is bound to the problem of odorant adsorption on
pipe walls, both for steel and polyethylene materials. Prior to the operation, overdosing may
be applied to saturate the pipe material with the odorant. As reported in [22], achieving the
equilibrium is not straightforward and may last several months. The seasonal changes of
temperature play also a role [21].
In the case of Poland, two factors, internally related, contribute to the odorant fading effect:
– steel pipes, previously used for coal gas distribution, are still used; the interior of these
pipes is highly contaminated with sediments of heavy coal gas components; the
odorant may interact with various substances, the mechanisms of interaction are not
known in details;
– steel mains and service lines are being gradually replaced by polyethylene pipes that
require time to become saturated with the odorant.
Therefore, the operators adjust the odorizing level accordingly in order to achieve the required
odorant concentration at the tail-ends of the network. The tail-end concentration is monitored
by means of a procedure of periodic gas sampling. The GSG operator applies a concentration
between 20–25 mg/m3 in summer and between 25–30 mg/m3 in winter in order to guarantee
the result of 15 mg/m3 in the tail-ends. In spite of the increased cost, over-odorizing is
required since the safety of consumers is of the highest priority [23].
In Poland, replacing THT with sulphur-free odorants is not considered in the nearest
perspective. The increased odorizing level does not cause exceeding the allowable total
sulphur content of 40 mg/m3 [24], which is comparable to levels set in other European
countries, (e.g. in the UK: 50 mg/m3, [18]). Changing the odorant would require adjustments
in all odorizing stations and monitoring devices, which would be bound to a significant cost
and effort.
The significance of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions resulting from natural gas odorizing can
be evaluated by means of a raw calculation. As shown in Table 1, natural gas in Poland
receives ca. 11 mg sulphur/m3, which corresponds to 22 mg SO2 once combusted. Assuming
that 100% natural gas in Poland is odorized (which is much above the actual figure) and
multiplying the level by the national consumption of gas, it is possible to demonstrate that the
corresponding emission is 314 Mg SO2/year. Relating this value to the total national emission
of 933 Gg SO2/year [25], it can be shown that natural gas odorizing is responsible for less
than 0.03% of the total SO2 emission, which is a negligible figure.
However, two reasons may indicate the necessity of changing the odorant in further
perspective. First, the sulphur containing agents have toxic effects on human‟s health (THT,
[26]). Second, the ongoing introduction of natural gas-fired fuel cell systems (with integrated
reforming units) requires a removal of sulphur components because they irreversibly
deactivate fuel processing catalysts and fuel cell electrodes [27], [28].
3. DESCRIPTION AND TECHNICAL ANALYSIS OF ODORIZING PLANTS
In Poland, natural gas odorizing plants are usually installed at the outlet of 1st level pressure
reduction stations (city gate stations). Following the formal division of the Polish gas
networks into transmission and distribution ones (2004), the majority of these stations
constitute an exit point from the transmission system and the entry point to the distribution
system, managed by a different operator. Therefore, some of the 1st level PRS‟s (including the
odorizing plants) are managed by the transmission network operator, while the remaining are
managed by the distribution one.
The principle of operation of odorizing plants may be based on two different approaches:
– dosing liquid droplets of the odorant into the gas (gravitational drip systems, smart
drip systems, electronically or pneumatically driven injection systems)
– providing a surface required for the odorant evaporation, the odorant is supplied to the
gas in the gaseous form (wick odorizers, simple by-pass, pulse by-pass).
In Poland, about 95% of the odorizing plants is based either on electronically driven injection
systems, or (especially in smaller or older stations), on the simple by-pass system. In the
following paragraphs the technical issues concerning these two types of plants are addressed.
A simple by-pass odorizing plant consists of a horizontal tank, partially filled with the
odorant, connected in parallel to the main gas line (Fig. 1). The flux of gas in the main line (1)
is QG. An adjustable gate valve (2) installed in the main line creates the differential pressure
p, which forces part QB of the gas to flow through the by-pass (3) into the tank, while the
major flux (QG – QB) passes through the gate valve (2). The part QB of gas passes through the
odorant tank (4) above the odorant surface, becomes saturated with its vapour, and returns to
the main flux (5), which then achieves a certain odorant concentration CG. The gate valve
controls how much of the gas flow is diverted to the odorant tank, so that the resulting odorant
concentration may be varied according to requirements.

Fig. 1. The principle of operation of a by-pass odorizing plant

At constant temperature, a by-pass odorizing plant is able to maintain a constant odorant
concentration at the system outlet, since for a given setting of the throttling device, always the
same share of the gas stream is directed to the tank:
QB
 const, (2)
QG  Q B
which in turn results from the relationships between the flow and the differential pressure in
the main and in the by-pass line:

p  R1 QG  Q B 
 2
 , (3)

p  R Q
2 B
2

where R1 and R2 are flow resistances of the main line (i.e. primarily of the gate valve), and of
the by-pass line, respectively. Assuming that the by-pass flux reaches the maximal
(saturation) odorant concentration independently on the flux magnitude:
C B  Csat  const , (4)
the resulting odorant concentration CG in the main gas flux is constant:
QB
CG  Csat . (5)
QG  Q B
The key disadvantage of by-pass odorizing plants is that the saturation concentration Csat of
the odorant in natural gas is temperature dependent, which negatively affects the stability of
the resulting concentration. The saturation concentration depends on the odorant saturation
pressure, the gas pressure and the molar masses of the odorant and natural gas. The saturation
pressure for THT has been determined based on measurement data reported for this substance,
available for several points.

Table 3. THT saturation pressure as a function of temperature

Temperature, °C Saturation pressure, kPa Source

10.0 1.13 [29]
20.0 1.93 [30][32]
20.8 2.1 [31]
30.0 3.00 [32]
38.0 5.52 [30]
39.7 5.9 [31]
50.0 8.00 [32]

Based on the data presented in Table 3, the following approximation has been found:
log psat = 7.134 – (1980/(T – 3.163), (6)
where p and T are expressed in kPa and K, respectively.
The saturation pressures are very low compared to the pressure of natural gas passing through
the tank, which usually corresponds to medium-pressure network level (380 kPa abs).
Therefore, the ideal gas mixture model [33] may be applied to calculate the maximum THT
vapour content per unit dry (i.e. unodorized) natural gas:
M THT psat,THT
  , kg THT/kg dry natural gas. (7)
M NG p  psat,THT
The maximum THT concentration in the odorized gas can be expressed as:

Csat   n, NG , kg THT/m3 odorized gas. (8)
1 
The dependency of the saturation pressure on temperature directly influences the operation of
by-pass odorizing plants. For example, if the plant was assembled and set in the summer
season at the ambient temperature of 25°C, then the saturation pressure determined from (1)
is 2.63 kPa. Assuming the pressure in the odorant tank is 380 kPa abs, the corresponding
maximum molar content is  = 0.03684 kg THT/kg NG, and the maximum
concentration is Csat (25°C) = 26500 mg/m3. In order to achieve the required concentration
of C = 25 mg/m3 in the main gas line, the gate valve has to be adjusted accordingly. The
required ratio of the by-pass flux to the flux in the main line corresponds to the inverse of the
odorant concentration ratio (Eq. 5) and equals 25 / 265000. Assuming (as an example) that the
ambient temperature has decreased to 10°C, the saturation concentration decreases then
to Csat (10°C) = 11500 mg/m3. If the gate valve is not adjusted, the resulting concentration will
decrease to C = 10.8 mg/m3, a value close to the lower limit of odorization required for the
safety of consumers. A further decrease of temperature would cause insufficient odorization
level until the gate valve is adjusted manually.
The presented figures have an approximate character, and have been used in order to illustrate
the problem of process instability. In actual practice of by-pass odorizing plants the following
phenomena impede the controlling of the process:
– due to limited dwell time, natural gas directed to the tank may not achieve the
saturation concentration; the significance of this problem increases at higher gas flow
rates.
– for horizontal cylindrical tanks, the contact surface varies with the level of the liquid.
– the values of „flow resistances‟ R1 and R2 depend on the flow velocity (see eg. [34])
For the discussed reasons, it is difficult to maintain a constant resulting odorant concentration
despite periodic adjustments of the gate valve. Therefore, in order to guarantee the safety of
natural gas supply, an over-odorization margin has to be applied. In Poland, this level is
usually assumed at 10 mg THT/m3 gas above the standard odorization level.
In spite of the presented drawbacks, by-pass odorizing plants are still installed at some small-
scale PRS‟s due to their low investment cost and because they do not require the supply of
electricity (not available at many small PRS objects). Moreover, small by-pass plants are
currently installed as emergency devices in new objects, in parallel to modern, electronically
controlled odorizing plants.
An injection odorizing plant are not limited by the dynamics of the evaporation process, since
the odorant is dosed to the main line in the liquid phase by means of an injection pump,
controlled electronically using impulses from the gas metering systems (Fig. 2).
The operation of an injection plant is determined by the operation of the gas metering system
(item 2 in Fig. 2). In Poland, the majority of metering systems in the 1st level PRS‟s is based
on volumetric flow measurement (turbine/rotary gas meters) supplemented by pressure and
temperature transmitters. The metering signals are directed to the flow computer (3), an
electronic device digitalizing the signals and performing the operations of normalized flow
rate calculation and integration. The flow computer is equipped with a pulse output for
communication with the driver (4) of the odorizing plant. The driver runs the injection pump
(6), which doses the odorant through a tank (5, usually non-pressurized) and injects it to the
main line by means of an injection nozzle (7). The odorant evaporates in the gas line, or at the
nozzle outlet, supplied with a suitable surface.

Fig. 2. The principle of operation of an injection odorizing plant. Symbols: V – volume

metering output, P – pressure transmitter, T – temperature transmitter.

The quantity of odorant m injected by the plant per unit time is:
m VC THT Vn
 , where: (9)
t Vpulse t

Vn is the increment in normalized gas volume (m3), registered by the flow computer in given
time period t; Vpulse is the so-called „weight‟ of the pulse output (m3/pulse), i.e. the increment
in gas volume required for sending 1 pulse to the injection plant; VC is the cyclic volume (m3),
i.e. the volumetric dose of the odorant per 1 cycle of the pump (the value of VC results from
the pump construction and settings), and  is the odorant density (kg/m3).
Once the parameters Vpulse and VC have been set, the resulting odorant concentration
C = m / Vn is constant and does not depend on such factors as temperature or the odorant
level in the tank. It is therefore possible to maintain the required odorant injection rate
(eg. 20–25 mg/m3); neither with the necessity of applying an additional safety margin nor of
frequent plant adjustments. This fact entails savings in operational expenses (compared to by-
pass plants), and a reduced risk of inappropriate odorizing level (which may only occur due to
plant failure or lack of odorant in the tank or power cut). In order to address these problems,
contemporary injection plants are communicated with the operator SCADA system and
supplemented with a fail-to-open by-pass odorizing plant.
As can be seen in Fig. 2 the injection plants have a complex system of zones with explosive
atmospheres, which requires the use of approved equipment and increases the total investment
cost.

4. ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF NATURAL GAS ODORIZING IN POLAND

As described in the previous section, the city gate stations (1st degree PRS‟s), where odorizing
is carried out, have been situated at the boundary of the sectors. In this situation the odorizing
process may be organized in two ways:
(a) Odorizing belongs to distribution; the distribution operator (i.e. GSG) performs the
process and covers the corresponding investment and operational expenditures;
(b) Odorizing belongs to transmission; the transmission operator (Gaz-System S.A.)
performs the process as a particular service for the distribution operator; the
distribution operator pays the transmission one according to a tariff approved by the
Energy Regulatory Office.
For further analysis the case (b) has been selected since it enables one to compare costs and
incomes, while for the case (a) it is only possible to assess the magnitude of costs.
The analysis has been performed for 10 selected 1st level PRS‟s managed by GSG. The
following data have been collected:
1. PRS technical data
2. Investment cost;
3. Operational expenses
4. Sales income
5. Macroeconomic indicators.
The data are described in subsections 4.1 – 4.5.
4.1. PRS technical data
The technical data for each of the analyzed PRS‟s comprises the nominal flow capacity and
the actual flow data, represented by the monthly and annual quantity of gas for a chosen year.
It should be noted, that the annual odorant consumption is bound to the actual load (i.e.
cumulative gas flow rate), however, the choice of the odorizing plant (and the resulting
investment cost) depends on the nominal flow capacity, which is usually much above the
actual flow rate, even in winter season.
The nominal flow rate, the cumulative annual gas flow and the choice of devices is presented
in Table 4, and the monthly flow pattern is depicted in Fig. 3.
4.2. Investment cost
The investment cost for several odorizing plants suitable for the given object has been
evaluated according to manufacturer‟s formal offers with installation works included. For the
injection plants the cost also comprises the replacement of the PRS‟s flow computer to a new-
generation device supplied with a suitable pulse output. Due to the trade secret, the odorizing
plants from various manufacturers have been denoted by a letter (B for by-pass, I for
injection), followed by a number of manufacturer and optionally another letter denoting
a particular model. The set of plants comprises therefore: B1, B2, I1A, I1B, B2, and I2.
Table 4. Pressure reduction stations (PRS‟s) chosen for the analysis

ID PRS Name (City/ Nominal flow Annual gas Odorizing plants

street or direction) capacity, m3/h flow, m3 considered
1 Ruda/Porębska 1 480 1 169 122 B1, I1A
2 Ruda/Cynkowa 2 470 2 186 431 B1, I1A
3 Będzin/Czeladzka 2 470 3 832 459 B1, I1A
4 Gliwice/Żeromskiego 3 200 6 585 386 B1, I1A, B2, I2
5 Katowice/Górnośląska 5 655 11 410 000 I1A, B2, I2
6 Łagiewniki/Świętochłowice 5 920 12 622 350 I1A, B2, I2
7 Katowice/Bocheńskiego 8 700 32 471 163 I1B, B2, I2
8 Zabrze/Maciejów 14 800 17 816 513 I1B, B2, I2
9 Rokitnica/Ofiar Katynia 15 200 10 709 605 I1B, B2, I2
10 Szopienice/Sosnowiec 47 500 153 568 692 I1B, B2, I2
All gas volumes normalized at 0°C, 101.325 kPa

Fig. 3. Flow characteristics of the selected 10 Pressure Reduction Stations for a chosen year
4.3. Operational expenses
The key expense is the cost of the odorant (THT), which has been assumed according to the
current prices in Poland, i.e. 54 PLN/kg (corresponding roughly to €13/kg). The odorant
consumption has been assumed at the average level of 20 mg/m3 between June and October,
and 25 mg/m3 between November and March. For by-pass plants, the levels are increased by
additional 10 mg/m3.
The higher limit of the electricity cost has been determined based on the nominal power of
devices, this cost is negligibly low. The remaining O & M cost have been determined
approximately as 50 per cent of the fixed charge set in the tariff.
4.4. Sales income
The sales from providing the odorization service have been evaluated according to the tariff
of the transmission operator Gaz-System S.A., expressed by the following formula:

 
n
S  S fixed   Vi  s var, base  Vi  Ci   var,sup , (10)
i 1

where: S – total sales of the odorizing service; Sfixed – fixed monthly service charge, PLN; Vi –
quantity (normalized volume) of gas odorized in the i-th period characterized by a constant
odorizing rate, m3; Svar,base – variable charge component (PLN/1000 m3), covering the basic
odorization level of 15 mg/m3; Ci – the level of supplementary odorizing (mg/m3) ordered
above 15 mg/m3; var, sup –variable charge component per unit of supplementary odorant
concentration, (PLN/1000 m3 per each mg/m3); n – number of periods characterized by
uniform odorization level.
According to the tariff approved in 2011, the charges are:
 Sfixed= 1147 PLN/month;
 svar, base = 0.663 PLN/1000 m3
 var,sup = 0.0442 PLN/1000 m3 per each mg/m3
It can be noted that for the given data the price for supplementary odorant level is equal to the
basic price, since 0.663/15 = 0.0442. However, the structure of tariff (10) is prepared for
differentiating between the prices.
4.5. Macroeconomic indicators
The analysis has been performed for the following macroeconomic indicators for Poland:
 interest rate for own capital investment: 5.5%
 inflation rate: 3.5%
 company income tax (CIT) rate: 19%
4.6. Methods and assumptions for the economic analysis
The economic analysis has been performed using the NPV indicator, based on evaluation of
cumulative cash flow. For own equity investments, the cash flow for each year t is defined as:
CF(t) = – J0(t) + S(t) – OE(t) – CIT(t), (11)
where J0 is the investment cost, S are sales, OE are operational expenses, and the company
income taxed is determined as:
CIT = rate × (S – OE – CA), (12)
where CA stands for capital allowances available for the equipment and buildings purchased
within the analyzed investment.
The cumulative discounted cash flow after N years of operation is determined as:
N 1  t 
NPV =     CFt   RVt  N  , (13)
 1  r 
t 0 
where RV(N) is the residual value of the installation after N years of operation.
The following assumptions have been done for the analysis:
 source of investment: 100% own capital; this assumption yields the discount rate of
0.022;
 life time of the installation: 15 years;
 capital allowances are calculated based on the depreciation rate 18% annually in the
first 5 years; 10% in the 6-th year; the residual value after 15 years is 0;
 neither working capital increment; land purchase nor additional labour costs are
required;
Results of the economic analysis are presented in Fig. 4. It may be observed that the
relationship between NPV and the quantity of odorized gas has an untypical, decreasing
character. Moreover, NPV is negative for the majority of plants odorizing more than 10 000
m3/year. This results from the variable tariff component, covering the price of 44.2 PLN/kg
THT, while the current price has already reached the level of 54 PLN/kg THT. Profitability is
only achieved if the fixed tariff term dominates in the Cash Flow, i.e. for plants with lower
annual quantity of odorized gas.

200
NPV after 15 years operation, 103 PLN

B1
B2
0
I1A
I1B
-200 I2

-400

-600
1 10 100 1.000
6
Annual quantity of gas odorized in the PRS, 10 m 3

Fig. 4. NPV for the odorization service after 15 years of plant operation for 10 investigated
Pressure Reduction Stations and 5 types of odorizing plants (B: by-pass plants, I: injection
plants). THT price assumed at 54 PLN/kg.
It can also be seen that the highest feasibility is achieved for by-pass plants type B1. This fact
is bound to the lowest installation cost. However, the choice of the by-pass plants is burdened
by the drawbacks discussed in Section 3. Among the injection plants, the type I1A yields
highest profitability, also due to lower installation cost. Plants I1B, I2 and B2 are designed for
higher flow capacity, have a higher investment cost and odorize higher annual gas quantity,
therefore all fail to achieve positive NPV results.
4. CONCLUSIONS
The Polish market of odorizing plants is dominated by injection and by-pass plants described
in the paper. From the technical point of view it should be recommended to replace all by-
pass plants by injection ones since the guarantee the stability of the resulting odorization
level. However, two factors indicate that by-pass plants are a suitable solution for small-scale
objects: first, their lower investment cost yields higher economic feasibility despite of a
higher odorization level. Second, low gas flows may result problematic for the operation of
injection plants, since the time interval between injections may be too high to maintain a
stable concentration.
The experience of the Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company (GSG) indicate that by-pass
plants are suitable for small-scale PRS‟s, usually below 2000 m3/h nominal flow, while larger
stations require an installation of an injection plant.
Injection plants yield much better odorization precision, however due to a more complex
construction and electric power dependency, their reliability is relatively lower. Wherever
injection plants are applied, the safety of consumers is ensured by means SCADA monitoring
of the plant and also by maintaining a parallel by-pass odorizing system with a fail-to-open
valve.
A switch to sulphur-free odorants is not planned in the nearest future; however the Polish gas
distribution companies are technically prepared to such an option. In Poland, emissions of
sulphur dioxides are incomparably higher in many other branches of economy, in particular in
district heating based on coal combustion in individual boilers/furnaces; and the major
attention should be directed to reduce this kind of emissions.

KEYWORDS
natural gas, distribution networks, odorizing, tetrahydrothiophene, economic analysis

NOMENCLATURE
C – concentration, kg/m3, mg/m3
CA – capital allowance, PLN
CF – cash flow, PLN
CIT – company income tax, PLN
I – odour intensity, –
m – mass, kg
M – molar mass, kg/kmol
NPV – net present value, PLN
OE – operational expenses, PLN
p – pressure, Pa
Q – volumetric flow rate, m3/s
r – discount rate, –
R – flow resistance, Pa s2 m–6
RV – residual value, PLN
t – time; s, years (in the economic analysis)
T – temperature, K
V – volume, m3
 – density, kg/m3
 – vapour content, kg/kg
Abbreviations
GSG – Górnośląska Spółka Gazownictwa sp. z o.o.
(the Upper Silesian Gas Distribution Company ltd.)
LEL – lower explosion limit
NG – natural gas
PLN – zloty (PoLish New currency); 1PLN = €0.24, Feb 2012
PRS – pressure reduction station
SCADA- supervisory control and data acquisition
THT – tetrahydrothiophene
All gas volumes are given in normalized conditions at 0°C, 101.325 kPa

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