Ammonia, Methanol, Oil and Gas Pipeline Network for Industrial Applications, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid growth of industrial demand, energy demand is also steadily increasing. As a crucial channel linking energy production and end users, pipeline transportation plays an irreplaceable role in ensuring reliable energy supply. Oil and gas pipelines, as key infrastructure for securing oil and gas delivery, are not only an important support for the reform of energy production and consumption but also a fundamental energy guarantee for the sustainable development of the national economy and society.

Under the dual-carbon targets and the ongoing transition of the energy mix, emerging energy carriers and chemical products such as ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide are entering a stage of large-scale storage, transportation and utilization. In the future energy system, long-distance and large-scale pipeline transportation of liquid ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide (particularly high-pressure or supercritical CO₂ in CCUS/CCS applications) will become key infrastructure supporting the development of clean energy, green chemical industries, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage systems.

Compared with conventional oil and gas, these new media exhibit distinct characteristics in phase behavior, corrosion mechanisms (e.g., CO₂ corrosion of carbon steel in the presence of water), leakage and dispersion behavior (e.g., toxic/irritant nature of ammonia, flammability and diffusivity of hydrogen, asphyxiation risk of CO₂), safety risk profiles, and operation and management patterns. This poses new challenges and higher requirements for pipeline design, material and coating selection, integrity management, safety control, and emergency response.

Therefore, this Topic focuses on pipelines for oil, gas, and new energy/chemical media such as ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide, with particular attention to the following:

• Safety assurance technologies for the whole lifecycle of pipelines;
• Integrity assessment and retrofit technologies for pipelines handling multiple media (oil, gas, ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, etc.);
• Process optimization and operation management technologies for multi-media pipeline transportation;
• Leakage, dispersion and risk assessment technologies for new media (ammonia, methanol, hydrogen, CO₂, etc.);
• Intelligent monitoring, online diagnostics, digital twin and smart operation, and maintenance technologies;
• Standards, codes and management systems adapted to multi-energy, multi-media pipeline networks;
• Domestic and foreign oil and gas pipeline construction plan and engineering practice;
• Hydrogen-doped/pure hydrogen pipeline transportation technology;
• Production and operation of oil and gas pipelines;
• Optimal operation of oil and gas pipelines;
• Pipeline leak detection and monitoring technology;
• Pipeline digital twin technology and application;
• City gas pipeline integrity management technology.

This Topic aims to promote cross-media and interdisciplinary technological innovation and the exchange of engineering practices to systematically enhance the management level and operational efficiency of oil, gas, new energy, and CO₂ pipelines, support the low-carbon transition of the energy structure and CO₂ emission reduction targets, and facilitate safe, green, efficient and high-quality development of the pipeline industry.

Prof. Dr. Enbin Liu
Prof. Dr. Shanbi Peng
Prof. Dr. Hongfang Lu
Dr. Qikun Chen
Dr. Weibiao Qiao
Topic Editors