Priya Patel
In an effort to upscale a technology for carbon capture and storage, researchers at SINTEF are applying methodologies used in the oil and gas industry. The research project called CO2Flow aims to develop new models for the simulation and prediction of CO2 flow behavior in pipelines. This is an important step in the fight against climate change, as technologies for capturing and storing CO2 are crucial in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The simulation model called LedaFlow, which has been successful in transporting oil and gas in pipelines, will be further developed to investigate how CO2 behaves in similar pipelines. The goal is to learn how to handle and store large volumes of CO2 in order to achieve large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Norway is actively working towards implementing CCS technologies in the oil and gas sector, with the Northern Lights project aiming to store up to 1.5 million tons of CO2 in subsea reservoirs by 2024. Currently, there are only a few CCS storage projects in operation in Norway, and they are based on the injection of gas from a single source. The Northern Lights project will involve gas from multiple sources being transported and injected using a network of wells. The CO2 will be captured from processes such as waste incineration and cement manufacture.
The CO2Flow project will utilize the expertise and data obtained from the oil and gas sector, specifically from the development of the LedaFlow model. The development of new data models and innovative experiments will enable researchers to predict CO2 flow behavior in pipelines, leading to optimized pipeline design and cost-effective and safe pipeline operation. The research will be conducted at SINTEF’s Multiphase Flow Laboratory and NTNU’s DeFACTO underground testing facility.
