Hydrogen sulfide challenges in carbon dioxide pipelines: CO2 Safe and Sour
Joint Industry Project
Joint industry project to investigate the integrity of carbon dioxide pipelines subjected to hydrogen sulfide from the carbon dioxide stream for carbon capture and storage applications.
Challenge
The amount of H2S allowed in CO2 pipelines are defined in the recommended practice (RP) DNV-RP-F104 "Design and operation of carbon dioxide pipelines". The RP was not developed with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in mind. The current amount of H2S allowed is low and many potential customers are likely not to meet the requirements without cleaning the CO2. By having a less strict gas specification more sources/customers can deliver CO2 to CCS. The joint industry project (JIP) CO2 Safe & Sour aims to investigate which levels of H2S can be accepted in the pipelines for CCS and update the RP based on the findings.
Objective
This Joint Industry Project by DNV will take a look at how increasing acceptable levels of H2S will affect the risk for Sulphide Stress Cracking (SSC) and corrosion damages in carbon steel pipelines used for CCS. Increasing the acceptable level of H2S in the pipes will potentially enable CCS projects to receive CO2 from a higher number of sources/customers with a limited need for processing/cleaning. The project will provide general recommendations for industry wide use and will lead to an update of the DNV-RP-F104 "Design and operation of carbon dioxide pipelines".
Benefits
Increased tolerance levels for impurities can give considerable value to CCS projects. It makes CCS more accessible for different sources/costumers and requires limiting need for gas processing.
Project details
DNV manages the project, and it was kicked off in March 2022 with Equinor, Shell, Gassco, TotalEnergies, IFE, Wood, and funding from the CLIMIT program by Gassnova. In January 2023 the JIP was extended to include ExxonMobil, Woodside, ArcelorMittal, Vallourec, Subsea7, Tenaris, and Corinth.
Project status
The JIP was kicked off in March 2022 and has will conclude summer 2024.