CO2 Pipeline Design: A Review

Abstract

There is a need to accurately design pipelines to meet the expected increase in the construction of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) pipelines after the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement. CO 2 pipelines are usually designed with the assumption of a pure CO 2 fluid, even though it usually contains impurities, which affect the critical pressure, critical temperature, phase behaviour, and pressure and temperature changes in the pipeline. The design of CO 2 pipelines and the calculation of process parameters and fluid properties is not quite accurate with the assumption of pure CO 2 fluids. This paper reviews the design of rich CO 2 pipelines including pipeline route selection, length and right of way, fluid flow rates and velocities, need for single point-to-point or trunk pipelines, pipeline operating pressures and temperatures, pipeline wall thickness, fluid stream composition, fluid phases, and pipeline diameter and pressure drop calculations. The performance of a hypothetical pipeline was simulated using gPROMS (ver. 4.2.0) and Aspen HYSYS (ver.10.1) and the results of both software were compared to validate equations. Pressure loss due to fluid acceleration was ignored in the development of the diameter/pressure drop equations. Work is ongoing to incorporate fluid acceleration effect and the effects of impurities to improve the current models.

Development of a Model for the Estimation of the Energy Consumption Associated with the Transportation of CO2 in Pipelines

“…CO 2 pipelines are often designed based on a minimum operating pressure that is set at a margin above the critical pressure of the CO 2 mixture present in the pipeline [3,14,36], as illustrated below by the green dashed line in Figure 3. The purpose this is to avoid a situation where a pipeline operating in the supercritical region cools to conditions close to the critical point-where density can be difficult to predict-or, worse still, where pipelines operating in the gas phase cool leading to condensation.…”

“…where m is the mass flow in the pipeline (kg/s) based on the parameter Flow from Case. The erosional velocity limit is, in turn, calculated based on the formula given in API 14C and the factor 'c' taken as 100 for continuous flow [3], u e = 0.82 c/ √ ρ min (8) where the minimum gas density, ρ min , is calculated using the worst case for all minimum operating pressure conditions along the pipeline and the minimum SST.…”

“…There are currently 19 large-scale Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects in operation worldwide [1], but to achieve the level of CO 2 emissions in the International Energy Agency's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) the number of industrial scale facilities will need to increase to more than 2000 by 2040 [2]. Each of these projects requires the transportation of CO 2 from a point of origin to a storage location and, since the transportation distance is often significant, over 200,000 km of CO 2 pipelines will be required by 2050 by CCS projects [3]. Although the majority of CO 2 is likely to be transported using pipelines, the success of many future CCS projects will depend on transportation using ships.…”

Fine Root Length of Maize Decreases in Response to Elevated CO2 Levels in Soil

“…Carbon capture and storage (CCS) can capture up to 90% of the carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions generated by fossil fuels in power generation and industrial processes, thereby reducing the amount of CO 2 entering the atmosphere [1]. Moreover, there are seventeen large-scale facilities that are already successfully in operation around the world (with four more scheduled to come online in the near future), which are currently capable of capturing more than 30 million tons of CO 2 per annum [2].…”

Optimization of the CO2 Liquefaction Process-Performance Study with Varying Ambient Temperature

“…However, in the case of EOR and ECBM, a transportation step is usually needed, which can represent a significant challenge to the implementation of these types of CCUS projects [2,3]. Although there exists around 8000 km of CO 2 pipeline in the world today, it is estimated that over 200,000 km of pipeline will be required by 2050 [4]. In addition, as the variety of CO 2 sources considered in CCUS projects becomes more diverse, the challenges associated with transporting CO 2 can be expected to multiply.…”