ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH (ONTRAS) avoided the emission of 86,000 tons of CO2 equivalent by using its mobile compressor "MobiDic" in 2023. The company was able to pump a total of 4.5 million cubic meters of natural gas with "MobiDic" and thus prevent unnecessary emissions during planned repair work. This volume corresponds to the average annual consumption of around 2,500 single-family homes.
The "MobiDic" is used when construction work is carried out on a gas pipeline, for example when it is being renovated. To do this, the affected section of pipeline must first be disconnected from the gas flow. The "MobiDic" can pump almost all of the residual gas remaining in the pipeline into neighboring pipelines. This preserves it for future use. During such routine interventions, ONTRAS has also been preparing the new pipeline sections for the possible transportation of hydrogen for several years.
During the weather-related construction break in winter, ONTRAS worked with the experts from Neuman & Esser in Wurzen to comprehensively maintain and further improve the compressor so that it can now pump gas around even more efficiently than before. These measures already proved successful during the first deployment in Steinitz in 2024: 124,000 cubic meters of natural gas were saved here, saving 2,370 tons of CO2 equivalent. A further 13 "MobiDic " missions are already planned for this year.
Avoiding methane emissions
In its sustainability program, ONTRAS has committed itself, among other things, to avoiding gas leaks during planned repair work. Currently, ONTRAS can already avoid up to 80 % of methane emissions by using mobile compressors and pumping the gas into other pipelines, thereby preserving and continuing to use the valuable gas.
Depending on the conditions on site, various technical options are used to remove these residual gas quantities:
a) If the time window is sufficient and the local conditions are suitable, the gas volume can be returned to the system and reused by pumping it into the next pipeline section. As the pressure in the pipeline cannot be lowered as much as required by pumping, the very small residual quantity must then be removed by other means, such as flaring or blowing
b) If pumping over is not possible or if the minimum pressure is reached by pumping over, the residual gas is burned off in a controlled and constantly monitored manner using a mobile flare system. Burning off reduces the climate-damaging effects of the remaining residual gas by a factor of around ten, as methane - the main component of natural gas - has a much greater impact on the climate than the CO2 produced during burning
c) In the medium term, ONTRAS is working on solutions to completely avoid blowing out residual gas volumes, for example by using a mobile gas liquefaction However, such solutions are not simple, as they would have to function at very different pressure and volume ratios for practical use.
