Health and Safety Executive Carbon capture and storage: HSE perceptions Dr Gordon Newsholme Process safety corporate topic group
Jan 01, 2016
Health and Safety Executive
Carbon capture and storage:
HSE perceptions
Dr Gordon Newsholme
Process safety corporate topic group
Presentation overview
• Govt’s energy review
• Overview of the technology
• Health and safety risks
• Regulatory framework and standards
• Knowledge management/advancement opportunities
• Summary
What is carbon capture and storage?
A series of processes by which the amount of man-made carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere could be reduced.
What does CCS involve?
• Separation of CO2 from gaseous effluent streams
• Transportation to a suitable storage location
• Long-term isolation from the atmosphere
Potential capture sites
• Electricity generation stations using fossil fuels
• Major industrial sources:
– Iron and steel making
– Cement production
– Glass manufacture
Separation technologies
• Absorption/adsorption
– Scrubbing with amines etc
– Pressure swing adsorption systems
Transportation of CO2 to storage site
• Pipelines
– Dense phase C02
– Specialist technology
– 2 500 km pipelines in USA
– 40 M tonnes p.a moved
– Very low incident rate
Transportation of CO2 to storage site
• Pipelines
• Ship– Moved as liquid at c 7 bar– Applicable experience from LNG shipping
Health and safety risks
• Gaseous CO2:
– Asphyxiant– Heavier-than-air– Acid gas
– Effect of elevated CO2 levels on asset life
Health and safety risks
• Gaseous CO2
• Supercritical CO2
– Not a solid, a liquid or a gas– low viscosity, highly solubilising and invasive
Health and safety risks
• Gaseous CO2
• Supercritical CO2
A release of sc CO2 will:• Produce a jet of gas, liquid/solid• Very low temperatures (- 800C)
• Grit-blasting nature of releases
Health and safety risks
• Gaseous CO2:
• Supercritical CO2
• Capture solvents– Flammable, irritant chemicals
Health and safety risks
• Gaseous CO2:
• Supercritical CO2
• Capture solvents
• Trapped energy– Very high operating/injection pressures– Typically 200 bars, potentially 400 bars
Regulatory framework & standards etc
• Backdrop of general H & S duties (HSW Act)
• No new categories of safety risk involved
• All chemicals involved well documented
• LUP/MH legislation needs amendment
• Few sc CO2 specific engineering standards
Significant health & safety issues
• Poor understanding of release behaviour of sc CO2
• Difficulty of developing foreseeable accident scenarios
• Risk to personnel, structure & function from releases
• Physiological hazards of CO2
• Effect of elevated CO2 levels on asset life
• Lack of engineering standards specifically for sc CO2
Knowledge management opportunities
• Large-scale sc CO2 release behaviour studies
• Development of validated modelling techniques
• Appropriate sc CO2 specific engineering codes/stds
• Effect of CO2 on maintenance needs
• Recognise need for effective KM
Summary
• CCS projects will be major operational undertakings
• The technology is extremely specialised
• There is relevant expertise
• Projects may exceed current operating parameters
• Release behaviour of sc CO2 is poorly understood
• Regulatory framework requires amendment
Acknowledgements
Photographs and Diagrams:Enpira, Daniel, American Combustion, Arcadenet, Greenpeace, Aircare, Aci-Ecotec, UKOOA, Fba.nus,Healthy-women.org, World coal, CO2capture project.org, Science Museum, World Energy, IEA, Coal Authority, Whitehouse.gov, BBC, Etech, Steeltechnology.org, Petroleumbazaar.com, Shaygen-innovatio.co.uk, Firstpeople, hydrocarbon-technology, Princeton, BSU, BNL, Ebara