Pathway for new test capacity on impurities in CO₂

Background
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) involve capturing CO₂ from industrial sites, transporting it, and storing it underground to reduce emissions. However, dense-phase CO₂ from industrial sources contains chemical impurities. These are mainly water (H₂O), which is often dissolved. Other impurities like oxygen (O₂), sulfur oxides (SOₓ), nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), carbon monoxide (CO), and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) can accelerate corrosion. Additionally, chemical reactions between H₂S, O₂, SO₂, and NO₂ can generate water, leading to the formation of sulfuric (H₂SO₄) and nitric acid (HNO₃). These are acids that can lead to severe corrosion of carbon steel.

There is a limited number of facilities worldwide for studying chemical reactions during impurity injection in CO₂ because these systems are costly and complex to operate. The emergence of the CCS industry sparks a demand for a higher capacity for testing to ensure safe transportation and storage of CO₂. Since the industry is predicted to operate at small margins, an accessible and cost-efficient set-up for testing could be instrumental in the development of new projects.

Goal
This project aims to address key questions regarding the engineering set-up needed to evaluate material integrity in CCS systems, including:
– What setup is required from an engineering perspective that can effectively support the industry?
– What are the costs of building and operating this setup?
– What relevant data can be generated to ensure the safe and reliable operation of CCS infrastructure?

By exploring these aspects, the project will help optimize experimental designs while balancing cost, feasibility, and accuracy in assessing material performance in CCS environments.

Activities
Literature Review & Benchmarking – Assess existing studies, facilities, and experimental setups for CCS material integrity testing.

Market Study & Research – Interview CCS operators to understand industry needs and relevancy of possible simplified equipment.

Engineering Design – Define the required setup, including test conditions, equipment, and impurity injection methods.
Cost Analysis – Estimate the expenses for building and operating the setup.

Risk Assessment – Evaluate the limitations and uncertainties of the proposed setup.

Results
Estimated investment for such a setup is approximately 3.5–4.0 MNOK, reflecting the complexity of high-pressure, low-temperature testing environments. Collaboration with industry stakeholders through Joint Industry Projects (JIPs) underscores the urgency of establishing standardized CCS-specific protocols. Economic boundaries in building this type of facilities can prevent these projects to start.

Developing dedicated CCS testing methodologies is essential to mitigate corrosion risks, validate material performance, and support safe, long-term operation of CO₂ transport and storage systems.

Further Work
Define and establish the test setup. Future efforts should focus on refining test protocols, validating predictive models, and integrating real-time monitoring to enhance reliability and reduce residual risk.