This Standard shall also apply, mutatis mutandis, to gas mixing plants that supply process gas to trade and industry and to industrial gas mixing plants for in‑house mixed‑gas supply.Gas mixing plants are frequently integrated into gas measurement and pressure reduction stations, which latter shall meet the specifications of DVGW Standards G 491 and G 492. In other words, most of the requirements specified in these Standards will also apply to gas mixing plants. All other requirements that go beyond the scope of G 491 and G 492 are described in this Technical Rule at hand, which first and foremost complements DVGW Standard G 491.

This Technical Rule G 260 specifies the requirements for the quality of fuel gases used in the supply of the general public with gas and sets the parameters for gas delivery, gas transportation, gas distribution, gas storage, operation of gas plants/systems and gas appliances for commercial and industrial gas applications as well as for development, standardization, and testing. Gases transported in separate pipelines which are not used in the supply of the general public, or are used as energy carrier or resource, and/or are used in special gas appliances are not subject to the scope of this Technical Rule.

This Technical Rule G 280 applies to all gases covered in DVGW Codes of Practice G 260 and G 262 respectively Standards DIN EN 16723-1 and -2 as well as DIN EN 16726 and all gases used for the supply via pipeline system of the general public and other consumers with a comparable level of safety. When using sulfur-containing odorants, the fact shall be taken into account that the entailed increase of the sulfur content in the gas is undesirable for some applications, such as its use as basic material in the chemical industry. Industrial companies using natural gas exclusively on company premises can forego odorization if the operator utilizes other measures to maintain the industrial gas plant or system’s safety. When switching from one odorant to another, special attention shall be paid to Section 9. The calibration of measuring devices for odorant control requires test gases which are detailed in Section 10.