Improvements to carbon storage An EU team investigated factors affecting the movement and containment of carbon dioxide (CO2). A study of impurities has yielded safer design and operation of pipe systems and safe long-term storage underground. Energy © Shutterstock Impurities can drastically affect CO2 storage and transportation. Investigating the issue will help catalyse technologies needed to realise EU carbon dioxide capture, transport and storage (CCS) initiatives. The EU-funded IMPACTS (The impact of the quality of CO2 on transport and storage behaviour) project examined the effect of impurities on CO2 transportation and storage. Hence, the team obtained the knowledge necessary to ensure safe design, construction and operation of CO2 pipelines and injection equipment. The work additionally ensured safe long-term geological storage of CO2. Researchers conducted fundamental research into the impact of impurities in terms of flow and other physical properties, plus chemical reactivity. Experiments yielded experimental thermodynamic data. The consortium used its own data, plus other published sources, to develop new reference equations of state for exhaust gases. Results were incorporated into publicly available software developed by the project. Such studies, plus modelling, helped to identify critical knowledge gaps and thus improve the design of CCS chains. Project work yielded an overview of knowledge regarding CO2 pipe corrosion, and helped define an acceptable level of impurities in CO2 transportation systems. As a result, the team developed seven representative CCS chains. General results emphasise the importance of a unified approach to gas processing, compression and transportation. Following, the team established reliable guidelines for acceptable levels of impurities. For example, a 4 % impurity rate increases power demands for compression and processing by 50 %. Based on the findings, the consortium made several recommendations concerning design methodologies and risk assessment frameworks. The work was disseminated via various events and conferences. IMPACTS also ran a course, attended by 43 participants. The project's results are detailed in a special issue of the International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control. Research outcomes helped to clarify design issues affecting CO2 storage and transportation. The work can help the EU achieve its targets in such areas. Keywords Carbon dioxide, CO2 storage, CO2 transportation, geological storage, CCS chain
