PR-015-12205-R01 Technology Challenges for Liquid CO2 Pump Stations

As a result of proposed new climate change legislation requiring carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, there has been increased interest in the development of carbon capture technology worldwide. CCS aims to reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by capturing it from the emissions of large producers and storing it underground. One often overlooked component of the CCS process is the transmission of captured CO2 to sequestration sites. This anthropogenic, or man-made, CO2 presents unique challenges to transportation because of the inclusion of impurities such as water (H2O), Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrogen (H2), and Methane (CH4). These impurities cause changes in the properties of the CO2 stream and complicate the design of pipelines.

Pure CO2 pipelines for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) have a long history of operation in North America, but this technology must be adapted to anthropogenic CO2 uses. Other technologies can potentially be adapted from the oil and gas industry. There are still challenges to be addressed, however, before anthropogenic CO2 pipeline technology can be considered mature. The objective of this project is to pinpoint areas of CO2 pipeline technology that still require development related to anthropogenic CO2 pump stations and their operation when transporting CO2 as a dense phase or supercritical fluid. This report focuses on identifying these challenges and providing a research roadmap to guide the development of anthropogenic CO2 technology to maturity.

This project identified key technology challenges related to the gas properties, equipment, and operation of anthropogenic CO2 pipeline pump stations. Through an extensive literature review, interviews with industry professionals, and input from the PRCI committee, a list of relevant technology challenges was developed. The technologies were then ranked the level of development of these challenges using the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale to identify technologies in need of significant development. This report addresses the progress of technologies determined to have a low TRL level of development.