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PSIG 1624

A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuration for Optimum


Onshore Transportation

Ahmed Saad1, Hamed Aghajani1, Ben Wetenhall1, Ibrahim Ahmed2


1
School of Marine Sceince and Technology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, United Kingdom
2
Geological Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), Rolla, MO 65409, United States

Copyright 2016, PSIG, Inc.


pipeline temperature exceeds that of the surrounding soil, the
This paper was prepared for presentation at the PSIG Annual Meeting held in Vancouver,
British Columbia, 11 May 13 May 2016.
soils water may evaporate and create a dry core around the
pipe affecting above ground plantations.
This paper was selected for presentation by the PSIG Board of Directors following review of
information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). The material, as presented,
does not necessarily reflect any position of the Pipeline Simulation Interest Group, its officers, A study to assess the effect of heat transferred from the
or members. Papers presented at PSIG meetings are subject to publication review by Editorial
Committees of the Pipeline Simulation Interest Group. Electronic reproduction, distribution, or Alliance pipeline in central Alberta, Canada on soil
storage of any part of this paper for commercial purposes without the written consent of PSIG temperature and crop growth (Dunn et al., 2004). The
is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300
words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous monitoring data gathered indicated that pipeline temperature
acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper was presented. Write Librarian, Pipeline
Simulation Interest Group, 945 McKinney, Suite #106, Houston, TX 77002, USA causes soil heating, within the effective rooting zone for crops
info@psig.org. as far as 190 km downstream from the compressor stations.
However, the availability of soil water required for plant
growth revealed that it is not significantly affected by the
elevated soil temperature in the vicinity of the pipeline.
ABSTRACT
Heat flux coming from a buried pipeline during onshore Another study carried out for the TransCanada Pipeline
transportation can have a significant effect on the surrounding (Statoil, 2009), included variations in time to assess the
soil, causing the premature fertilisation of plants along the expected changes in the soil temperature profile. Based on a
pipeline route. A numerical investigation of Carbon Dioxide steady-state calculation using a one-dimensional shape factor
(CO2) and natural gas (NG) transmission pipelines under model for the pipeline and soil interaction, a series of heat
steady state heat transfer is conducted to demonstrate the fluxes were plotted at varying pipeline depths along the route.
quantity of heat released from the pipelines. The results The numerical investigation reveals that the greatest difference
demonstrate that there is significant difference in temperature in increased soil temperature casued by the heat flux from the
dissipation in NG pipelines compared with CO2 pipelines. pipeline, measured between January and April and the greatest
margin was measured directly over the pipeline.

INTRODUCTION Drescher et al. (2013) implemented an experimental study,


including numerical investigation, to estimate the cooling rate
of pipelines. Which operated by Statoil in 2011, transporting
One efficient and identified solution for mitigating CO2 CO2 surrounded by water. A series of 2D simulations were
emissions is known as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). In applied from transient to steady state to estimate the overall
CCS schemes, CO2 is captured from large stationary sources heat transfer coefficient and temperature distributions around
and transported (most commonly by pipeline) to appropriate the pipe. The same principles done by Drescher et al. can be
sites for storage or usage, for example the Enhanced Oil applied to estimate the heat released from a pipeline.Which
Recovery (EOR). Moreover, high pressure pipelines are carries CO2 into the surrounding soil in onshore applications
recognised as the most effective method for transporting large to measure the increased soil temperature with consequences
volumes of CO2 (Mohitpour, 2011). for above plantation prematurity.

The literature on the effects of heat transferred from onshore


pipelines on the growth of crops can be summarised in few
published studies. Naeth and Chanasky (1993) highlighted
that the heat transferred from a buried pipeline could cause a
localised increase in soil temperature. Thus, where the
2 Ahmed Saad, Hamed Aghajani, Ben Wetenhall, Ibrahim Ahmed PSIG 1624

NOMENCLATURES APPROACH
Nomenclature Units
Two different numerical approaches were examined in this
Bi Biot number research which described as follows:
CP Specific heat capacity KJ/Kg.K Btu/lb.0F
D Diameter m ft Approach One: Is designed to characterise the heat released
DF Design factor % % from the dense phase CO2 and NG to the surroundings. This
Temperature gradient K/m 0
F/m allows a comparison of the heat transfer amount between the
dT/dx
two fluids. It requires a long pipeline in order to differentiate
E Longitudinal joint factor
between the inlet and outlet properties of the pipelines. To
F Temperature de-rating factor simplify the analysis, the overall heat transfer coefficient is
f Friction factor calculated for different pipeline configurations in varying
h Convection heattransfer coef. W/m2.K Btu/ft2.hr.0F operating conditions.
K Thermal conductivity W/m.K Btu/ft.hr.0F
Turbulent Kinetic energy Approach Two: Study the heat released from the CO2
k
pipeline and determining the effect of the heat flux to the
L Pipeline length m ft p

surrounding soil. Figure 1 illustrates the CO2 pipeline


M Molecular weight g mole configurations: carbon steel (X65), coated carbon steel (X65
m Mass of a substance Kg lb with 3PP coating) and coated carbon steel with thermal
Mass flow rate Kg/s lb/s insulation (X65, 3PP with PUR Foam thermal insulation).
Nu Nusselt number
P Pressure MPa psi
Pr Prandtl number
Differencial Pressure lose MPa psi
q Heat flux W/m2 Btu/hr.ft
Heat generation rate / volume W/m3 Btu/hr.ft3
R Ideal gas constant J/mol.K L atm/mol.K
Re Reynolds number
r Radius of the cylinder m ft
0
T Temperature K F
Internal heat transfer W/m2.K Btu/ft2.hr.0F
Figure 1 Second approach: CO2 heat transfer to the
U coefficient surrounding soil
V Volume m3 ft3
m ft The starting point for pipeline heat transfer models is the
wt Wall thickness
mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations. These
Z Pipeline depth of cover m ft
equations may be solved numerically using the Computational
Greek symbol Fluid Dynamic (CFD) package ANSYS fluent. This gives an
Thermal diffusivity W.m2/J ft2/hr understanding of the hydraulic behaviour of the fluids. The
process starts with the assembly of the desired geometry,
Gas compressibility factor % %
which is simplified into two dimensions for CFD studies.
Turbulent dissipation rate .
Secondly, grids are generated for the computational domain.
Viscosity of the fluid Kg/m.s Lb/ft.s
The Finite Element Analysis (FEA) used for the CFD analysis
Angle in radius direction Deg. Deg. divides the geometry into elements, which are the body of the
Thermal decay constant % % model broken down into small pieces. The software
Density of the medium Kg/m3 Ib/ft3 automatically creates a mixed mesh of solid elements with a
Velocity of the fluid m/s Ft/s non-zero thickness once a 3D model is created. The quality of
the element and mesh density is extremely important when
Moisture content in dry soil % %
considering the accuracy of the solution. Due to the large size
Hoop stress MPa Lb/in2
of the model the software accept only a coarse mesh density
Subscripts Subscripts scale. Which contains 74,970 elements, 371,356 nodes with
Ave Average opt Optimum maximum aspect ratio of 3.60727 and minimum orthogonal
D Depth ex External quality of 8.21949e-1. Where the governed equations are
In Internal R Rate / length solved. This is followed by setting the solution, viscous mode
is the suitable due to the unstable nature of the fluid flow the
PSIG 1624 A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuraion for Opimum On-shore Transportation 3

k-epsilon (k-). Where k (J/Kg) is the turbulent kinetics energy maintenance (Witkowski et al., 2014). Table 1 present the
and (J/Kg.s) is the turbulent dissipation rate model is used. CO2 properties when leaving the CCS facilities.
Boundary conditions are used according to the required model
analysis. The inlet and outlet conditions are defined as a
Table 1 - Super critical CO2 properties when leaving the
pressure inlet at known pipeline operating parameters and
CCS
moreover, a pressure outlet. Where the system is able to
calculate the exit parameters. The model walls are separately Property SI Units English Units
specified with respective boundary conditions. Such as
symmetry walls at the cross sections and the top soil Temperature 313.15 K 104 0F
convection heat transfer into the surrounding air. Furthermore, Pressure 10 Mpa 1450.38 psi
no slip condition is considered for each wall. Finally, the Density 628.61 Kg/m 3
6.3 pound/gallon
analysis of the results takes place.
Specific heat capacity 5657.5 J/Kg.K 1.35 Btu/lb.0F
Carbon dioxide and NG transportation properties are Themal Conductivity 0.07141 W/m.K 0.04 Btu/ft.hr.0F
calculated using REFPROP software for different pipeline
operating conditions (Lemmon et al., 2007). Furthermore, for Heat transfer coefficient 2482.8 W/m2.K 437.3 Btu/ft2.hr.0F
the purpose of comparing the heat transfer and temperature
drop between CO2 and NG pipelines. A set of equations are
1.1 Pipeline sizing
developed to calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient
through the pipeline wall in order to simplify the CFD
Pipeline diameter calculation methods can be divided into two
analysis.
main groups:
A- Based on hydraulic laws for turbulent flow in circular
pipelines,
ANALYSIS B- Economic-related sizing based on optimal design.
For this study pipeline was sized using IEA GHG, (2005)
Similar to NG, the most efficient state for transporting CO2 via pipeline sizing formula revised by (Vandeginste and Piessens,
long distance pipelines are either as a sub-cooled liquid or as a 2008) and is shown below:
supercritical fluid. For pure CO2, the minimum operating
pressure and temperature for supercritical phase transportation D= (1)
are 7.39 MPa (1070.37 psi) and 304.19 K (87.87 0F)
respectively. Figure 2 illustrates the phase diagram of pure The average design flow rate regarding prospecting clusters in
CO2. the UK is 190.26 Kg/s (1.85 barrel/s), (www.ccshumber.co.uk,
2015). Hopkins (2014) stated that the average fluid velocity in
pipelines is between 1.5-3.0 m/s (4.9-9.84 ft/s); herefore, the
optimum average flow speed for the cluster flow rate
considered in the UK is 1.524 m/s (5 ft/s).

Calculation assumptions are:


1. The pipeline inlet pressure was assumed to be 10
MPa (1450.38 psi); and the temperature is 313.15 K
(104 0F) The pipeline is treated as an isothermal
system where the temperature along the pipeline is
constant (Serpa et al., 2011);
2. To keep the fluid in a single phase, the pressure in the
pipeline should not drop to below 8 MPa (1160.3
psi). Once the CO2 pressure drops to this limit a
boosting station is needed.
Figure 2 - CO2 phase diagram (Witkowski et al., 2014) 3. Therefor:

1. Carbon dioxide pipeline design D= = 0.503m (1.65 ft)


The transportation of hydrocarbons via pipelines can be in one
or a combination of different phases of matter, gas, liquid and The pipeline required delivering 190.26 kg/s (1.85 barrel/s) in
solids. However, single phase transportation is more efficient these conditions is 508mm (1.67 ft) diameter. Because the API
and economically viable for pipelines as it allows considerable (American Petroleum Institute) for pipeline specification
control over the pipeline in terms of operation and standards, stipulates a set of pipeline sizes (API, 2004).
4 Ahmed Saad, Hamed Aghajani, Ben Wetenhall, Ibrahim Ahmed PSIG 1624

1.2 Pipeline strength and wall thickness calculation

For the purpose of estimating the thickness of the pipe wall,


Barlows formula is used:

= (2)

(3)
E and F, the longitudinal joint and temperature de-rating
factors respectively, are assumed to be 1 (PD BS 8010-1,
IGE/TD/1).

By substituting equation (3) in to equation (2), we find an


equation for estimating the thickness of the pipe wall:
Figure 3 - Pipeline cross sectional configuration (Bai and
(4) Bai, 2012)
The U-value or overall heat transfer coefficient (OHTC) of the
The pipeline details used in the design are: pipeline diameter pipeline is used to demonstrate the amount of heat lost from
selected is 508mm. The design factor is classified as 72% and the pipeline to the surroundings. There are a number of factors
is selected based on (PD BS 8010-1, IGE/TD/1) therefore the which affect the OHTC including the convection nature of the
design operating pressure is 11 MPa (1595.42 psi) for the surroundings, the properties and thickness of the pipeline, and
design safety purposes according to the standard. The the fluid properties.
Specified Minimum Yield Stress is 448 MPa (64976.9 psi) The overall heat transfer coefficient will be the summation of
API (American Petroleum Institute) 5L X-65 (equivalent to the individual estimated values in the cross sectional area of
L450 (British Standards)) the pipe:

The calculated wall thickness for the pipeline using equation 4


is 0.008142 m (0.0267ft).does not exist in this standard; API- = + + +
5L standard has a set of pipeline thicknesses according to the
grades of the materials. Therefore, the next highest thickness
in the standard is selected for the pipeline: 0.0087376 m = + +
(0.0287 ft).

2. Heat transfer in buried pipelines


+ (5)
The modes of transferring heat through pipelines are either
conduction heat transfer from the fluid through the pipe wall Newtons equation can provide the total heat flux from the
to the surroundings soil; or convection along the fluid. As a pipeline to the surroundings:
result of the relatively low temperature of the systems, the
radiation heat transfer between the internal fluid and the pipe
wall to the surrounding soil is negligible and can be ignored. = (6)

2.1 Overall heat transfer in a cross sectional area of Steady state heat transfer
pipeline
Steady state heat transfer in the pipeline assumes the heat loss
Consider the cross sectional area of a pipeline as illustrated in across the pipe wall from the flowing fluid is constant over
Figure 3. The heat flow rate through the pipeline is assumed to time. Coupling the enthalpy, pressure and velocity into the
be steady state. energy, mass, and momentum conservation can give an
accurate prediction of the temperature along the pipeline.
Parker et al., (1969) explains the difficulties in solving the
resulting formulaes analytically. However, they can be solved
numerically.
PSIG 1624 A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuraion for Opimum On-shore Transportation 5

2.2 Heat transfer of carbon dioxide and NG pipelines Table 2 - Pipeline configuration properties

CO2 has a much higher critical point temperature, the Thermal


Density CP Conductivity
operating pressure of the supercritical CO2 is generally No Material 3
(Kg/m ) (J/Kg.K) (W/m.K)
between 8.5-12 MPa (1232.82 -1740.45 psi). This is in
contrast to many existing NG pipelines that operate at a Carbon Steel Grade
pressure below 8.5 MPa (1232.82 psi), (Serpa et al., 2011). 1 X65/L450, API-5L, 7850 490 43 - 48
D:508,t:8.7376mm
Nusselt number (Nu) relates the convective heat transfer to
Polyethylene coating,
conducted heat transfer and may be used at the pipe wall as: 2.1 920 1250 0.42 - 0.51
2.5mm
Polypropylene coating,
K = , and hence, = = (7) 2.2 946 1920 0.1 - 0.22
2.5mm

A dimensionless correlation for Nu for fully turbulent flow of PUR Thermal


3 150 1500 0.035 - 0.16
single-phase fluids is proposed by (Dittus and Boelter, 1930): Insulation, 50mm
4.1 Organic Soil 1200 1480 0.15 - 2
Nu = 0.0255 Re0.8.Prn (8) 4.2 Saturated soil 1100 1230 0.6 - 4

Where n is 0.4 if the fluid is being heated and 0.3 if the fluid is
being cooled. Table 3 - U-values for pipeline individual layers
To achieve a satisfactory result, the pipeline length must be U-Value
greater than 10D, the Prandtl number between 0.7 to 160 and No Configuration 2
W/m .K Btu/ft2.hr.0F
the Reynolds number over 10,000 (Bai and Bai, 2012). All
fluid properties are assumed to be calculated at the average 1 Internal convection Refer to table 2
fluid temperature for the reason that temperature drops along 2 Steel pipe 9697.37 1707.8
the pipeline are relatively small. 3 Coating 303.03 53.4
4 Thermal Insulation 6.88 1.2
3. Pipeline configurations and parameters
5 Soil 1.36 0.24
This study invistigated three pipeline construction 6 External convection 16.89 2.98
configurations:
1. Carbon steel pipeline under the soil
2. Coated carbon steel pipeline under the soil RESULTS
3. Coated and thermally insulated pipeline under the soil This section explained the differences between heat transfer
from dense phase CO2 and heat transfer from natural gas.
The Fluent design modeller has a limited drawing box;
therefore, the maximum length of the pipeline is limited to 1. Heat transfer in carbon dioxide and Natural gas
500m. Application of the meshing and layer parts on the pipelines simulation result
model is a complicated step. Consequently, only the fluid
domain has been modelled and the overall heat transfer A comparison is carried out considering a pipeline
coefficient passing through the pipeline walls in to the configuration of a steel pipe and coating. The pipeline
atmosphere has been calculated separately. Table 2 operating parameters for CO2 and NG are taken to be the same
demonstrates the properties of pipeline materials, pipeline where the average maximum heat transfer coefficient of the
coating and surrounding soils suitable for agriculture flowing fluid was calculated. Furthermore, the OHTC (U-
(Engineeringtoolbox.com). value) passing through the pipeline walls is calculated using
the parameters in Table 2. The results showed that the CO2
Overall heat transfer coefficient calculation reduces in temperature from 313.15 K (104.10 0F) at the
pipeline inlet to 312.99 K (103.7 0F) at a distance of 500m
The OHTC is calculated using equation (5) and the parameters (1640.42 ft) along the pipeline. In comparison with the NG
given for the flow, pipeline configurations and in Table 2. pipeline reached 312.603 K (103.02 0F) for the same distance.
Equation (5) is based on the internal radius of the pipeline; Consequently, this shows that a CO2 pipeline will maintain its
however, Table 3 presents the U-value for the individual fluid temperature for a longer distance (kilometers) than a NG
pipeline layers. pipeline. This requires further investigation to understand the
effect of an elevated soil temperature on plantations.
6 Ahmed Saad, Hamed Aghajani, Ben Wetenhall, Ibrahim Ahmed PSIG 1624

Different parameters, configurations and operating parameters


have been numerically investigated. This is to understand the
temperature distribution in these systems and to distinguish
between CO2 and NG heat transfer behaviour. The first part of
the analysis has been performed mathematically to determine
the OHTC for both pipelines. Subsequently, the thermal
analysis was investigated numerically.

Figure 4 illustrates the heat transfer coefficient of the CO2


pipeline 500-3200 W/m2.K (88-616.39 Btu/ft2.hr.0F) in
different operating conditions as described below. Figure 5
depicts the same factor for the NG pipeline in similar
operating conditions. The NG pipeline almost has linear trend
behaviour regarding the heat transfer parameters in contrast to
the CO2 pipelines presenting non-linear trend in normal Figure 6 - Prandtl number trends in CO2 pipelines
operating conditions.

Figure 7 - Prandtl number trends in NG pipelines


Figure 4 - Heat transfer coefficient trends in CO2 pipelines
The effect of the flowing fluid and the pipeline
configurations on the OHTC:
12 MPa
600
Heat transfer coefficient

11 MPa Table 4 presents the OHTC for CO2 and NG in different


550 10 MPa pipeline configurations.
9 MPa
500
(W/m2.K)

8 Mpa
Table 4 - OHTC for CO2 and NG in pipeline
450
configurations
400
350
U-Value (OHTC)
300
285 295 305 315 325 335 No Pipeline cross section
CO2 NG
Temperature (K) Pipeline pipeline

Figure 5 - Heat transfer coefficient trends in NG pipelines 1 Steel pipeline 1681.2 361.5
2 Steel pipe + coating 268.8 164.8
Prandtl number represents the relationship between the fluids Steel pipe + coating +
specific heat capacity, viscosity and thermal conductivity and 3 6.71 6.65
thermal insulation
relates convection with conduction heat transfer in pipelines
through the Nusselt number (see above). Figures 6 and 7, Steel pipe + coating +
shows the Prandtl number behaviors in CO2 and NG pipelines 4 thermal insulation + 1.134 1.132
respectively. The results illustrate that Prandtl number exhibits surrounding soil
the same trend behaviour as the heat transfer coefficient. A
Steel pipe + coating + soil +
higher range in the CO2 pipeline is observed compared to NG. 5 1.066 1.06
external convection
PSIG 1624 A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuraion for Opimum On-shore Transportation 7

The results demonstrate that the optimum operating conditions The analysis displays the temperature distribution on the
for lower heat transfer characterisation in pipelines is as pipeline and soil cross sectional area, as demonstrated in
follows; the NG pipelines operate at a higher operating Figures 10 bellow as a base case scenario.
temperature exceeding 323.15 K (122 0F) and lower operating
pressure of less than 9MPa. The CO2 pipeline can function at a
high operating temperature of more than 333.15 K (140 0F)
and at a high operating pressure of more than 10MPa to
achieve the same benefits. Figure 8 illustrates the effect of the
pipeline configuration layers on the heat transfer from the CO2
and NG pipeline to the surroundings. The highest OHTC from
the pipeline and the flowing fluid occurs at configuartion (1).
1800
1600 CO2 Pipeline

1400 NG pipeline
U-Value (OHTC)

1200 Figure 10 - Carbon steel pipeline geometry details


1000 The main concern in the research is the soil elevated
800 temperature above the pipeline. Therefore, the distance from
the centre of the pipeline to ground level vertically is divided
600 in to five levels, where the temperature can be calculated by
400 the software. Figure 11 presents the five levels and the level of
the heat transferred to it, which started from the pipeline
200 centre V-0.0 line moving through the y axis to the ground
0 level at V-1100, where the distance from the centre of the
0 2 4 6 pipeline is 1100 millimetres.
Pipeline layer
Figure 8 The effect of pipeline layers in the heat transfer

2. Carbon dioxide pipeline thermal analysis through a


cross section

The model includes the pipeline cross section in the


surrounding soil. Most pipelines are only coated; however,
other pipelines are coated, thermally insulated and
subsequently buried underground. According to industry
standards, the depth of cover for a pipeline is approximately
1100mm from ground level to the centre of the pipeline
(American National Standards Institute. Committee B31 Code
for Pressure Piping., 2012). Figure 9 illustrate the cross
sectional configuration of the analysis.
Figure 11 - Temperature distribution from the steel CO2
pipeline to the soil

The cross sectional details of the coated pipeline configuration


demonstrated in Figure 12, this includes a 0.0025 mm
(0.0082ft) thickness coating layer added to the base case
scenario configuration. The industry recommended coating for
corrosion protection is polyethylene or polypropylene
covering the Fusion Bonded Epoxy (FBE) by means of
adhesion, which is usually called the 3PP or 3PE coating. The
temperature distribution in the cross sectional area of the
coated pipeline is illustrated in Figure 13. The temperature
contour on the left side shows the temperature distribution
Figure 9 - Geometry model cross sectional area from the highest 313 K (103.73 0F) at the centre of the
8 Ahmed Saad, Hamed Aghajani, Ben Wetenhall, Ibrahim Ahmed PSIG 1624

pipeline to the normal ground temperature 278 K (40.73 0F) on transfer rate from the pipeline to the surroundings. Regarding
the far sides. the operating conditions, 0.1 m (0.33 ft) distance from ground
level is not affected in the vicinity of the pipeline.

Figure 12 - Coated pipeline geometry details

Figure 15 - Temperature distribution from the insulated


CO2 pipeline to the soil

The analytical calculations for heat transfer to the


surroundings showed that supercritical CO2 has a larger
overall heat transfer coefficient compared to NG. However,
the temperature reduction along the pipelines is considerably
higher in the NG pipeline in contrast to the CO2 pipeline. This
is due to the transported fluids properties.

The configuration of the pipeline has been shown to have a


significant effect on the heat transfer through the pipe wall.
Figure13 - Temperature distribution from the coated CO2 The most common pipeline configuration includes a carbon
pipeline to the soil steel case and a coating layer. This is the protective layer from
the external environmental factors. An insulated pipeline has
Figure 14 illustrates the cross sectional segment of the the least temperature reduction. Therefore, these
thermally insulated pipeline. The insulation layer in this configurations will maintain the product temperature for as
analysis is intended to be 0.05 m (0.164 ft) thick as per the long as the pipeline has to deliver the products. In the case of
industry recommendations; however, further analysis reveals NG transportation, a coated pipeline does not maintain the
the effect of the insulation thickness. temperature for a long distance. However, the CO2 pipeline
will maintain the temperature for a longer distance of
approximately 3 to 4 times that of a NG pipeline.

The highest temperature is at the centre of the pipeline and


reduces through the cross section into the surroundings. The
numerical investigation of the CO2 pipeline confirms that as
the distance increases from the centre of the pipeline the
temperature decreases. As indicated by the experiment on the
TransCanada pipeline; at a depth of 0.12 m (0.4 ft) below
ground level the soil temperature was 278.15 K (41 0F) to
281.15 K (46.4 0F) higher than at ground level. This is similar
to the results attained from the analysis of the coated pipeline.
Figure 14 - Insulated pipeline geometry details However, the effective annual crop rooting zone is about
The temperature distribution around the insulated pipeline can 600mm below ground level. Where analysis confirms that at
be visualised in Figure 15. The maximum temperature can be this distance, the ground temperature is roughly 295.15 K(71.6
0
measured at the pipeline centre moreover, reduces as the F) higher than the ground level in the vicinity of the pipeline.
distance from the centre of the pipeline increases. The Spencer (1975) said the yield of a number of plant species and
application of the thermal insulation layer in the pipeline plant growth is adversely affected by an elevation of root zone
configuration shows the substantial decrease of the heat temperature of 283.15 K (50 0F) to 288.15 K (59 0F) which
PSIG 1624 A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuraion for Opimum On-shore Transportation 9

causes the soil to dry.

To compare the amount of heat released from the different


pipeline configurations, the pipeline steel configuration (1)
will transfer 65% of the internal temperature to the plants
rooting zone, and is similar to the coated pipeline
configuration (2) at approximately 62%. In comparison, the
insulated pipeline configuration (3) will transfer only 14% to
this zone. Having said that these percentages gradually
decrease as the distance from the pipeline increases; given that
some plants are sensitive to increased soil temperatures,
during the early stages of plant development, enhanced
emergence and initial plant growth would be affected.
Figure 17 - Temperature distribution from the coated
3. The Pipeline configuration discussion pipeline

Figure 16 explains that the horizontal axis presents the


distance along the horizontal direction of the pipeline cross Figure 18 presents the thermal analysis of the insulated
section area and the vertical axis demonstrates the pipeline configuration. The thermal insulation layer had a
corresponding distribution of the temperatures. The maximum significant influence on the heat transfer to the surrounding
temperatures decrease gradually as the distance from the soil, as these layers are made of materials which resist
pipeline increases. temperature diffusion.

Figure 18 - Temperature distribution from the insulated


Figure 16 - Temperature distribution from the steel pipeline
pipeline
3.2 The Effect of the pipeline configurations and the
Figure 17 demonstrates the thermal analysis of the coated thermal insulation on the Heat Flux
carbon steel pipeline configuration surrounded by saturated
soil. The coating layer has a very small effect on the heat The pipeline operating temperature is 313.15 K (104 0F),
transfer from the pipeline to the surrounding soil. However, it while the normal ground temperature is 278.15 K (41 0F).
reveals a remarkable reduction in the overall temperature Figure 19 illustrates the different pipeline configurations
along the pipeline. effects on the temperature distribution above the pipeline. This
showed that the insulated pipeline has higher effect compare
to the base case scenario in short distance 500m (1640.42 ft).
10 Ahmed Saad, Hamed Aghajani, Ben Wetenhall, Ibrahim Ahmed PSIG 1624

74.1%. Moreover, an even thicker layer, such as 40mm (0.13


ft) will achieve a temperature reduction of 82.1%. At thermal
insulation thicknesses of 50mm, 70mm and 90mm, (0.164 ft,
0.23 ft and 0.3 ft) therefore, the 50mm (0.164 ft) insulation
layer with a temperature reduction of 86.1% has the biggest
economic value.

CONCLUSIONS
Despite the higher heat transfer coefficient of the CO2
pipeline, temperature reduction along the NG pipeline is more
rapid. The CO2 pipeline would affect distances which are three
times longer compared to the NG pipeline and hence could
affect the pre-maturity of a greater number of plantations.

Elevated soil temperature in the vicinity of a pipeline is


Figure 19 - Temperatures at distances vertically above the governed by the pipeline operating parameters, in addition to
centre of the CO2 pipeline the pipe configuration. The thickness of the pipeline layers,
including the pipe coating and thermal insulation layers will
Figure 20 shows different pipeline thermal insulation affect the rate of heat transfer. Analysis demonstrates a 2.5mm
thicknesses from 10mm (0.033 ft) to 90mm (0.3 ft). It shows (0.0082 ft) coating layer of Poly Ethylene, as well as a 50mm
that, even a thinner layer of 10mm is extremely beneficial in (0.164 ft) thermal insulation layer would maintain the internal
terms of heat released to the surroundings. product temperature and protect the above ground plantations.

The CO2 pipeline heat transfer analysis also explains that the
insulation layer efficiency is 89.3% in terms of maintaining
the internal product temperature. In contrast to the coated
pipeline approximately 45.5%, furthermore there is little effect
of the coated layer of 2.3% contribution addressed from the
steel pipeline configuration analysis. It also reveals a thermal
insulation layer of 50 mm (0.164 ft) reduces temperature
transfer from the pipeline to the surroundings by 86.1%.
Hence, it is the best option for high temperature product
applications.

REFERENCES
1-American National Standards Institute. Committee B31
Code for Pressure Piping. (2012) Pipeline transportation
systems for liquids and slurries: ASME code for pressure
piping, B31. 2012 edn. New York: American Society of
Mechanical Engineers.
2-ANSYS FLUENT Inc. (2015) 'theory guide and software'.
3- API, A.P.I. (2004) 'Specification 5L-Specification for Line
Pipe, 43rd Edition, Washington'.
Figure 20- The effect of thermal insulation thickness in
4- Bai, Y. and Bai, Q. (2012) Subsea engineering handbook.
heat transfer rate
Waltham, MA: Gulf Professional Pub.
5- http://www.ccshumber.co.uk/the-pipeline.aspx, (2015) The
The temperature in Figure 20 shows non-linear behaviour with
project | Yorkshire and Humber CCS | National Grid [online]
distance from the pipeline centre. At 600 mm (1.97 ft) where
the plants rooting zone starts, a 10mm (0.033 ft) layer of Available at: http://www.ccshumber.co.uk/the-project.aspx
insulation shows a 64.0% temperature reduction compared [Accessed 19 Jun. 2015].
with the temperature of the internal fluid. A thicker insulation
layer of 30mm (0.1 ft) shows a temperature reduction of
PSIG 1624 A Thermal Analysis of a CO2 Transportation Pipeline: a Design Configuraion for Opimum On-shore Transportation 11

6- Dittus, F.W. and Boelter, L.M.K. (1930) 'University of


California, Berkeley, Publications on Engineering, vol. 2, p.
AUTHORS BIOGRAPHY
443'. Ahmed Saad, is a MSc graduate in the School of Marine
7-Drescher, M., Wilhelmsen, ., Aursand, P., Aursand, E., Science and Technology at Newcastle University in Newcastle
Koeijer, G.d. and Held, R. (2013) 'Heat Transfer upon Tyne, United Kingdom. He has over 7 years experience
Characteristics of a Pipeline for CO2 Transport with Water as in the oil and gas industry pipeline engineering field.
Surrounding Substance'. Currently he is working as a field engineer at MDSi in the
8- Hopkins, P. (2014) 'Pipeline fundamentals module, School United States. Prior to Newcastle University, he worked for
of Marine Science & Technology, University of Newcastle, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC International)
M.Sc. Lecture Note'. as a pipeline Integrity engineer (2007-2013) with a recognized
9-IGEM/TD/1 (2008) 'IGEM/TD/1, Edition 5, Steel pipelines accomplishments during this period. Ahmed holds a BSc in
and associated installations for high pressure gas transmission. Mechanical engineering from Khartoum University, Sudan.
10- Lemmon, E.W., Huber, M.L. and McLinden, M.O. (2007)
'NIST Reference Fluid Thermodynamic and Transport Dr. Hamed Aghajani is a Research Associate in pipeline
Properties: REFPROP, Version 8.0'. hydraulics in the School of Marine Science and Technology at
11- Mohitpour, M. (2011) Pipeline transportation of carbon Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, United
dioxide containing impurities. New York, NY: ASME. Kingdom. He got his PhD in 2013 in Mechanical Engineering
12- Naeth, M.A. and Chanasyk, D.S. (1993) 'Soil temperature from Kingston University London, working on the analytical
regime in mixed prairie rangeland after pipeline construction modeling of initial spray formation in fire sprinklers. His
and operation, W.B. McGill and A.W. Bailey, Can. research interests in the past 8 years have been a range of
Agriculture Engineering.'. mathematical and/or numerical modellings of turbulent
13-Parker, J.D., Boggs, J.H. and Blick, E.F. (1969) internal/external (reacting) fluid flows.
'Introduction to Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, Addison-
Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts'. Dr. Ben Wetenhall has 6 publications in the area of CO2
14-PD-BS-8010 (2004) 'PUBLISHED DOCUMENT BS-8010 transportation with impurities and over 5 years of experience
Part 1, Pipeline systems Part 1: Steel pipelines on land'. in the field. BW is currently a Co-Investigator on an EPSRC
15- Serpa, J., Morbee, J. and Tzimas, E. (2011) 'Technical and project and has previously been a Principal Investigator. He is
Economic Characteristics of a CO2 Transmission Pipeline the lead author of the IEAGHG report "Impact of CO2
Infrastructure, JRC European commission, institute of energy'. impurity on CO2 compression, liquefaction and
16- Spencer, F.S. (1975) 'Plant growth over an underground transportation" and has conducted consultancy work for
power transmission prototype, Ontario Hydro Research National Grid Carbon.
Quarterly 27'.
17- STATOIL (2011) 'Pipeline Temperature Effects Study for Dr. Ibrahim Ahmed began his collegiate studies in
TransCanada Pipeline, XL (Keystone)'. Khartoum, Sudan and received a Bachelor of Science in
18- Stewart, A.J. and MacKenzie, A.F. (1979) 'Effect of Geology at Khartoum University in Khartoum, Sudan. In
pipeline construction on soils and crops. IV. Department of January 2010 he joined Missouri University of Science and
Renewable Resources, Macdonald College, Montreal, Technology, Rolla, Missouri in Geological Engineering
Quebec.'. Program for a Master Degree where he worked on 15
19- Vandeginste, V. and Piessens, V. (2008) 'Pipeline design subsurface applied geophysics projects as both Researcher and
for a least-cost router application for CO2 transport in the Teaching Assistant, in Missouri Illinois and Arkansas States.
CO2 sequestration cycle. International Journal of Greenhouse He received two Masters in December 2011, May 2014 and a
Gas Control 571-581'. PhD in Dec 2016 from the same University in Geological
20- Witkowski, A., Majkut, M. and Sebastian Rulik (2014) Engineering, Geology & Geophysics respectively at Rolla,
'Analysis of pipeline transportation systems for carbon dioxide Missouri. Currently Mr. Ahmed is working as researcher at
sequestration, Silesian University of Technology, Institute of Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Power Engineering and Turbomachinery, Konarskiego 18, 44-
100 Gliwice, Poland'.

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