Analyzing the Impact of Pipeline Length and CO2 Mass Flow Rate on the Transportation Cost Based on the Required Number of Booster Pumps: A Case Study of Houston

Abstract

Summary Carbon dioxide (CO2) occupies the leading position among greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that adversely impact the environment. A way to remedy the growing emission of CO2 is by using carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. This paper proposes a novel optimization framework to minimize the transportation cost of CO2 by determining the required number of booster pumps, with the consideration of the impact of pipeline length and CO2 flow rate. As a case study, we conducted a study of optimally transporting 1 Mt (million tonnes) of CO2 through pipelines from four well-defined sources over 62 miles (sink) in the greater Houston area (Texas, USA). This optimization problem considers the impact of pipeline length and CO2 flow rate on the transportation cost of CO2. The results from the optimized system show that the pipeline length and CO2 flow rate need to be tuned properly to optimally transport and recover the investment price. For the system to be cost-effective, it is preferable to transport a high flow rate of CO2 (>50 Mt) over a longer distance (>100 miles); anything outside the mentioned ranges or less can increase the investment and CO2 transportation costs.