This poster on the UKCCSRC Call 2 project, Investigating the radiative heat flux in small and large scale oxy-coal furnaces for CFD model development and system scale up, was presented at the Cardiff Biannual, 10.09.14. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-193.

This poster on the UKCCSRC Call 2 project The Development and Demonstration of Best Practice Guidelines for the Safe Start-up Injection of CO2 into Depleted Gas Fields was presented at the CSLF Call project poster reception, London, 27.06.16. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-183. Highly-depleted gas fields represent prime potential targets for large-scale storage of captured CO2 emitted from industrial sources and fossil-fuel power plants. Given the potentially low reservoir pressures as well as the unique thermodynamic properties of CO2, especially in the presence of the various stream impurities, the injection process presents significant safety and operational challenges. In particular, the start-up injection leads to the following risks: • blockage due to hydrate and ice formation following the contact of the cold CO2 with the interstitial water around the wellbore; • thermal stress shocking of the wellbore casing steel, leading to its fracture and ultimately escape of CO2; • over-pressurisation accompanied by CO2 backflow into the injection system due to the violent evaporation of the superheated liquid CO2 upon entry into the wellbore.

Simplified reservoir models are used to estimate the boundary conditions (pressure, temperature and flow) that are relevant to the primary aims of this project. A set of boundary conditions are defined at the wellhead that represent the behaviour of the store. Data relates to publication: Sanchez Fernandez, E., Naylor, M., Lucquiaud, M., Wetenhall, B., Aghajani, H., Race, J., Chalmers, H. Impacts of geological store uncertainties on the design and operation of flexible CCS offshore pipeline infrastructure (2016) International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, 52, pp. 139-154. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84978197316&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijggc.2016.06.005&partnerID=40&md5=d567f0e06f561613554a1f1c2e230194 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.06.005

Many of the research results from the SACS and CO2STORE projects are published in the scientific literature but in a somewhat fragmented form. This report consolidates some of the key findings into a manual of observations and recommendations relevant to underground saline aquifer storage, aiming to provide technically robust guidelines for effective and safe storage of CO2 in a range of geological settings. This will set the scene for companies, regulatory authorities, nongovernmental organisations, and ultimately, the interested general public, in evaluating possible new CO2 storage projects in Europe and elsewhere. The report can be downloaded from http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/2959/.

EPSRC project EP/K035878/1 - The DiSECCS seismic analysis toolbox comprises a series of codes which implement various algorithms for analysing post-stack seismic data acquired as part of a geological carbon sequestration monitoring programme. The tools focus on determining the thickness, saturation distribution and physical properties of CO2 layers imaged on seismic data. The toolbox also contains a number of new rock physics models developed as part of the DiSECCS project in the form of Mathematica notebooks.

The spreadsheet gathers the data collected during two experiments conducted on a synthetic sandstone core sample to assess geophysical monitoring techniques, storage capacity evaluation and the geomechanical integrity of shallow CO2 storage reservoirs. The tests were conducted in the rock physics laboratory at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, during 2016, as part of the DiSECCS project with funding from the United Kingdom's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC grant EP/K035878/1) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). One experiment was a steady state brine-CO2 flow-through test (so called BTFT in the spreadsheet) to simultaneously evaluate storage capacity and identify pore fluid distribution and mechanical indicators during CO2 geosequestration. The confining and pore pressure conditions were similar to those estimated for shallow North Sea - like storage reservoirs, but simulating inflation/depletion cyclic scenarios for increasing brine:CO2 fractional flow rates. The second experiment focused on the assessment of geomechanical changes (the so called GAT in the spreadsheet) during and after CO2 storage activities under the same stress conditions. The data include ultrasonic P- and S-wave velocities and their respective attenuation factors and axial and radial strains in both tests, and electrical resistivity in the case of the flow-through test.

The dataset contains experimental data of the preparation of a photocatalytic membrane and its application in CO2 capture and utilization. The experiments were carried out in the Tang’s and Lan’s groups at the Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London during June-November 2020. Specifically, the data shows the preparation of cucurbit[6]uril and copper oxide which were empolyerd to prepare the photocatalytic membrane together with functional polymers. Preliminary results of the photocatalytic membrane for CO2 capture and utilization were also included. Funded by UKCCSRC 2020 Flexible Funding Call.

Measurement and monitoring of CO2 flows across the entire CCS chain are essential to ensure accurate accounting of captured CO2 and help prevent leaking during transportation to and from storage sites. This particular R&D need has been identified as one of the highest priority areas in the latest APGTF Strategy Report and in the UKCCSRC RAPID Handbook as well as in a recent study by NEL. The need for addressing measurement uncertainty and its importance for CO2 flows is a key factor in the CCS chain. The accurate measurement of CO2 is also vital to lift the strict regulations from legislative bodies off the full deployment of CCS and create a more positive public perception towards CCS. In addition, it is imperative to investigate the flow metering aspects of CO2 to inform the legislators and regulators and to have this underpinning knowledge available to the providers of the design, build and operation of CCS plants. In this project a cutting-edge technology for the measurement of CO2 flows in CCS pipelines will be developed. The technology will incorporate multi-modal sensing and statistical data fusion techniques. General-purpose flow sensors, including Averaging Differential Pressure, ultrasonic and Coriolis together with temperature, pressure and electrical impedance transducers, will be utilised to create a prototype multi-modal sensing system. A statistical data fusion method based on Bayes' rule for combining prior and observation information will be developed to integrate the outputs of the sensors and transducers. Various statistical data fusion models will be developed off-line and optimal data fusion models will be selected for on-line implementation. Meanwhile, a dedicated CO2 mass flow reference platform will be built using precision weighing techniques and its uncertainty will be established. Extensive experimental work will be conducted on the CO2 mass reference platform after implementing the on-line statistical data fusion models. The multi-modal sensing system will then be extensively tested under controlled flow conditions which resemble practical CCS conditions. The measurement uncertainty for each selected data fusion model will be reported together with the implication of costs, which will be a very informative source for users, manufacturers and researchers. Finally, the multimodal sensing system will be scaled up with the support of the industrial partner and evaluated on their large line (>DN250) flow test facility under simulated flow conditions. Effects of impurities in the CO2 flow on the performance of the flow measurement system will also be studied. Findings from the project will be disseminated to the UKCCSRC and a wider community. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-218.

This Proposal focuses on the determination of the dew point of water (H2O), or “water solubility”, in impure CO2 mixtures (e.g. containing nitrogen, N2, oxygen, O2, hydrogen, H2, or mixtures of N2 + H2). The proposed work is a direct result of new findings in our project under Call 1, where we have obtained highly reproducible data for water solubility in CO2 + N2 using infrared spectroscopy and are well on the way to implementing an independent route using the so-called “Karl-Fischer” titration technique to give independent validation of our results. We have shown that the solubility of H2O is significantly reduced by the presence of even low concentrations of N2, a finding which has direct implications on anthropogenic CO2 transportation pipeline specifications and operation (e.g. internal corrosion). Such data have been identified by the Advanced Power Generation Technology Forum (APGTF) and the priorities specified in the UKCCRC Research And Pathways to Impact Delivery (RAPID) Handbook as being crucial for developing safe CO2 transportation in both the gaseous and dense phase. This Project has been designed to fill gaps in the available data, which are crucial for the safe implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) because liquid water is highly acidic in the presence of excess CO2; this acidity can be increased by trace amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2) and hydrogen sulphide (H2S), and this acidity will greatly accelerate corrosion in transportation pipelines and can cause further problems in sub-surface storage. Keeping water and CO2 in a single phase during transportation will largely avoid these problems. In Call 1, we set out to design and develop two complementary experimental approaches using either Infrared spectroscopy or Karl-Fischer titration. The key is now to understand the major implications for the complex range of CCS mixtures. A further complication is that the phase behaviour is highly dependent on both composition and temperature, therefore in order to fully understand the behaviour of water in the context of CCS requires further measurements. For this project we are targeting the needs outlined by National Grid in their letter for pre-combustion CCS where H2 is a likely contaminant. We have obtained preliminary data for H2 which shows that the effects may be greater than for N2, but this needs full validation. Furthermore, we propose to test the widespread assumption that the behaviour of O2 impurities will mirror that of N2. O2 is important in CCS coupled to the oxyfuel technology. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-185.

This is a partnership between Imperial College London and the British Geological Survey in which we combine our expertise in pore scale digital rock physics (DRP), reservoir condition Special Core Analysis (SCAL) and dynamic reservoir simulation to enhance modelling strategies for the prediction of the performance of CO2 storage sites leading to lower risk and optimised reservoir management. The proposal is at the forefront of the revolution in digital rock physics and will investigate pore-scale and core-scale processes of CO2 flow, dissolution and residual trapping in the laboratory and incorporate the results into existing and newly developed dynamic reservoir simulation models of major CO2 storage reservoirs in the UK. We leverage in-kind contributions of £213k in capital equipment and reservoir models. Building directly on a large body of experimental and simulation work, the outcomes of the proposed research will include the APGTF R&D roadmap targets of a multi-scale approach for 1.updated and risked first order CO2 storage capacity estimates , 2.an assessment of the value of different kinds of data (core samples, seismic) for strategic data acquisition targets and 3.robust strategies for reservoir management to enhance dissolution trapping and monitoring in the UK. The multiscale approach will be validated against field data from the Carbon Management Canada Field Research Station (CMC-FRS), using rock samples from the target reservoir intervals of the Medicine Hat and Belly River sandstone formations. An engagement and planning trip to the CMC-FRS will foster international engagement. Grant number: UKCCSRC-C2-197.