Determination of water solubility limits in CO₂ mixtures to deliver water specification levels for CO₂ transportation

This project will determine the dew point of water, or “water solubility”, in impure CO₂ mixtures (e.g. containing N₂ and H₂). At present, key data for defining water levels have not been determined. The data are important because liquid water is highly acidic in the presence of excess CO₂; this acidity can be increased by trace amounts of SO₂ and H₂S and acidity will greatly accelerate corrosion. This research will provide the first accurate data for CO₂ transportation systems, which can be used to develop accurate equations of state and define more robust pipeline specifications. These in turn can be applied to inform cost benefit analyses on the additional costs on the pipeline material and construction balanced against the cost of purification and the needs of safety. The research will provide critical physical property data to enable the safe and cost effective transportation of CO₂.

Project Outputs

• Determination of Water Solubility in CO₂ Mixtures. Project update presented by Stephanie Foltran, University of Nottingham, at the UKCCSRC Cranfield Biannual Meeting, 22/04/2015.
• ​Determination of water solubility limits in CO₂ mixtures: Ensuring the safety of CO₂ transport. Project update presented by Stephanie Foltran, University of Nottingham, at the UKCCSRC Cambridge Biannual Meeting, April 2014
• A synthetic-dynamic method for water solubility measurements in high pressure CO₂ using ATR–FTIR spectroscopy, Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, February 2016 
• Understanding the Solubility of Water in Carbon Capture and Storage Mixtures: An FTIR Spectroscopic Study of H₂O + CO₂ + N₂ Ternary Mixtures, International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, April 2015
• See bottom of page for project blogs.