Effect of Common Impurities on the Phase Behaviour of Carbon Dioxide Rich Systems: Minimizing the Risk of Hydrate Formation and Two-Phase Flow

Abstract

Abstract CO2 produced by carbon capture processes is generally not pure and can contain impurities such as N2, H2, CO, H2S and water. The presence of these impurities could lead to challenging flow assurance issues. The presence of water may result in ice and/or gas hydrate formation and cause blockage. Reducing the water content is commonly required to reduce the potential for corrosion but for an offshore pipeline system it is also used as a means of preventing gas hydrate problems; however, there is little information on the dehydration requirements. Furthermore, the gaseous CO2 rich stream is generally compressed to be transported as liquid or dense-phase in order to avoid two-phase flow and increase the density of the system. The presence of the above impurities will also change the system's bubble point pressure, hence affecting the compression requirement. The aim of this communication is to evaluate the risk of hydrate formation in a rich carbon dioxide stream and to study the phase behaviour of CO2 in the presence of common impurities. An experimental methodology was developed for measuring water content in CO2 rich phase in equilibrium with hydrates. The water content in equilibrium with hydrates at simulated pipeline conditions (e.g., 4 ºC up to 190 bar) as well as after simulated choke conditions (e.g., at -2 ºC and around 50 bar) were measured for pure CO2 and a mixture of 2 mole% H2 and 98 mole% CO2. Bubble point measurements were also carried out for this binary mixture for temperatures ranging from -20 ºC to 25 ºC. A thermodynamic approach was employed to model the phase equilibria. The experimental data available in the literature on gas solubility in water in binary systems were used in tuning the BIPs. The thermodynamic model was used to predict the phase behaviour and the hydrate dissociation conditions of various CO2 rich streams in the presence of free water and various levels of dehydration (250 ppm and 500 ppm). The results are in good agreement with the available experimental data. The developed experimental methodology and thermodynamic model could provide the necessary data in determining the required dehydration level for CO2 rich systems, as well as minimum pipeline pressure required to avoid two phase flow, hydrates, and water condensation. Introduction It is now widely accepted that anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are largely responsible for the steady rise in concentrations of atmospheric CO2 recorded over the past century. Worldwide concerns over the threat of global warming caused by these increasing concentrations have encouraged industrialised countries into working together to reduce carbon emissions, with specific targets being laid out in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol agreement. To meet these goals, nations must increase investment in 'clean', renewable sources of energy, and develop solutions for reducing CO2 (and other greenhouse gases) emissions from existing and new fossil fuel facilities. With regard to carbon emissions, the most promising solution currently on the table is CO2 capture and subsurface storage, primarily by injection into ageing oil/gas reservoirs (where it can be used to improve oil/gas recovery) or deep saline aquifers. A particularly promising fossil fuel technology, which can help address the above issues, is Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) reformation (e.g. White et al., 2003). In IGCC reformation, hydrocarbons (coal, petcoke, oil residues) are broken down to yield hydrogen and CO2. The produced hydrogen can be used for electricity generation and/or as a clean fuel (e.g. to power motor vehicles), while the CO2 is separated for subsurface disposal.