Objective and hypothesis
The aim of this project is to measure the corrosion effect of liquid or supercritical CO2 in the presence of impurities and provide a mathematical model to predict this corrosion on existing and new infrastructure. The projects will examine possible CO2 impurity monitoring systems, both sample- based (off-line or at-line) and in-line measurements and establish a relationship between the CO2 impurities and material corrosion in the pipelines/wells and associated equipment.

Approach
The aim is pursued by applying an existing flow-loop facility at Welltec, specifically realised for corrosion testing in a liquid/ supercritical CO2 environment. This facility will simulate corrosion conditions like those expected in CO2 transportation pipelines and injection wells. The lab facilities at AAU will be used to validate the different monitoring units in a controlled environment. Welltec’s flow-loop facility will demonstrate the application in an industrial environment utilising the monitoring units after validation. The applicability of in-line measurement technologies, such as spectroscopic methods for monitoring CO2 contaminants, will be investigated and validated against conventional analytical methods.

Expected impact/output
Since the transportation and injection of captured CO2 is an essential part of any CCUS strategy, the project’s impact is significant: If corrosion in the carbon storage system is left unchecked, the entire strategy of injecting CO2 into the offshore reservoirs will result in excessive OPEX to such a degree that it may never be financially feasible. The project can contribute to Danish job creation as the addressed problem must be handled to ensure a safe and reliable injection of CO2 in the existing offshore infrastructure. The learning in this project will be used to identify requirements for qualifying existing infrastructure for CO2 injection in relation to carbon storage both on a technical as well as legislative level.