When purchasing natural gas, the Czech Republic relied on one supplier that offered one quality. But now everything will change. And with that, the quality of the gas will also change.
According to reports of the Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic the rules for the quality assessment of gas will probably change. She asked her for it NET4GAS companywhich provides gas supplies to the Czech Republic and its storage.
Until now, we have received gas from Russia, through a gas pipeline from the same source. The quality was always the same. However, today the sources are changing to both natural gas from Russia and other countries, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) is also added to that. These sources do not have the same quality and parameters. This is especially noticeable with the Wobbe index.
Wobbe index
This is one of the methods used to measure gas quality. Created by chemist Gerrit Wobb in 1963, this index gives the ratio of the gross heat output (HHV) of natural gas to the gross heat output of methane (CH4). The Wobbe index is used to compare the quality of different types of natural gas, such as natural gas from oil fields or natural gas from coal. The Wobbe index is used to compare the energy output of burning fuel gas with different compositions in a device (fire, stove, etc.). If two fuels have identical Wobbe indices, then for a given pressure and valve setting, the energy output will also be the same. Variations of up to 5% are usually allowed as this would not be noticeable to the consumer.
The values of this index for LNG exceed the values currently specified in the Order of the Transmission System Operator, so NET4GAS started to cooperate with Energy Regulatory Officeby the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic on the change of this order.
Different, not more dangerous
What does this mean for us? First of all, it should be noted that the gas will have a slightly different composition, which does not mean that it would be more dangerous or non-functional. The function of gas boilers will not deteriorate, there will be no greater risk of explosion, etc. What will happen will be a change in the characteristics of the gas. This means that, for example, it will not ignite as well or cook as quickly in gas stoves, because it will have a different calorific value.
Source: Chamber of Commerce of the Czech Republic, ERO, NET4GAS
