Safe handling of very large quantities of carbon dioxide
The safe handling of very large quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) will be a requirement of all Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects. Today the DNV led CO2PIPETRANS joint industry project (JIP) is making freely available experimental data which will further support global CCS implementation.
The data released by the CO2PIPETRANS JIP complements previously released data and will greatly assist dense phase CO2 computer model development and validation,” says Hamish Holt at DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability.
The material released by the CO2PIPETRANS JIP in May was gathered by BP in 2006 as part of their Peterhead/Miller CO2 capture and Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) project. Its release was the first step by the JIP to fill an identified gap in available data suitable for dense phase CO2 model development and validation.
Hamish Holt, who is DNV’s CO2PIPETRANS JIP work package manager for release modelling data collection and sharing, stressed the importance of this second batch of data.
Complementary datasets
“The BP data we released previously gave modellers material that they could use to improve and assess the accuracy of their dense phase CO2 models. The data being released today, collected by Shell in 2010, provides complementary datasets covering different initial conditions and with greater number of measurements. The combined material now released by the JIP provides a very valuable reference source for all those involved in large scale CO2 handling be it within CCS, CO2 EOR or CO2-rich hydrocarbon extraction,” Hamish Holt says.
The BP and Shell material that the CO2PIPETRANS JIP has made freely available covers a significant number of experiments undertaken to investigate the behaviour of releasing dense phase CO2 up to 150 bar (2175 psi) and 150C (300F) through orifices up to 25mm (1 inch) diameter at constant or decaying inventory pressure. The data has all been critically reviewed prior to being made available and the review reports are also being provided with the datasets to help data interpretation.
Stakeholder confidence
“Having been heavily involved in the execution of both the BP and Shell CO2 research projects it is very satisfying to be part of the data sharing exercise. The widespread availability of material such as this will raise the confidence levels in hazard management modelling which in turn will help raise stakeholder confidence that the large CO2 inventories of CCS operations are being safely handled,” Holt added.
The JIP is today launching the 2nd release of data along with supporting material. It can be freely downloaded, along with the 1st datasets released, from DNV’s website, www.dnv.com/ccs.
About the CO2PIPETRANS JIP
“The CO2PIPETRANS JIP is a cooperation of operators, suppliers and regulators aiming to close technical knowledge gaps to hasten the roll out of Carbon Capture and Transport technology,” says Kaare Helle, CO2PIPETRANS Project Sponsor.
The participants are Arcelor Mittal, BP, DNV, Endesa, ENI, E.ON Ruhrgas, Gassco, Gassnova, Health and Safety Executive (HSE) UK, Maersk Oil, Petrobras, Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) Norway, Shell, V&M Deutschland, and Vattenfall.
Helle adds that “Phase 2 began in March 2011 with the main objective to fill the knowledge gaps identified during the execution of Phase 1 which was concluded in 2010. Making model validation datasets publicly available is only one aspect of the CO2PIPETRANS project. The JIP is also undertaking work to improve the understanding of CO2 pipeline propagating cracks and corrosion rates with various CO2 stream impurities.”
The project concludes in mid-2013 and the recommended practice ‘DNV-RP-J202 Design and Operation of CO2 Pipelines‘ will be updated to reflect the new knowledge to help ensure the highest standards of safety are delivered in transporting CO2.
Source: DNV
