Assessment of Integral Thermo-Hydraulic Models for Pipeline Transportation of Dense-Phase and Supercritical CO2

Martynov, Sergey; Mac Dowell, Niall; Brown, Solomon; Mahgerefteh, Haroun

Assessment of Integral Thermo-Hydraulic Models for Pipeline Transportation of Dense-Phase and Supercritical CO2

2015

Martynov, Sergey | Mac Dowell, Niall | Brown, Solomon | Mahgerefteh, Haroun

The accurate design and economic evaluation of a high-pressure CO₂ pipeline transportation network employed as part of any Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) chain requires the availability of reliable thermo-hydraulic models for predicting the pressure drop and temperature and ultimately the fluid phase in a pipeline. In this study, the performance of a number of integral thermo-hydraulic models is examined on the basis of the comparison of their predictions against those obtained using a validated, more rigorous but computationally demanding numerical one-dimensional steady-state flow model. The study is performed for typical 0.4–1.2 m internal diameter pipelines transporting CO₂ over distances of up to 100 km at supercritical pressures ranging from 90 to 170 bar and temperatures from 20 to 60 °C. Buried, insulated, and noninsulated above-ground horizontal pipelines are considered in the analysis. The study concludes that, of the integral models examined, (1) the model based on the nonisothermal compressible flow equation for the pressure drop, combined with the temperature equation accounting for the Joule–Thomson effect and heat exchange at the pipe wall, provides the most accurate model; (2) the model which uses the Darcy–Weisbach equation and accounts for the density variation with the temperature and pressure in the pipe provides a simple method with comparable performance with the first method; (3) using the Darcy–Weisbach equation with constant density can lead to very large errors in pressure drop calculations.

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