Multiscale whole systems modelling and analysis for CO2 capture, transport and storage
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Hull
Department Name: Engineering
Abstract
The UK has challenging GHG reduction targets. It is believed that carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a critical role in the energy systems of the future, in part to support the decarbonisation objective and in part to provide grid flexibility in a future system including a large fraction of less responsive low carbon energy systems (e.g. nuclear baseload and intermittent wind). The whole systems modelling and analysis programme proposed here is designed to support wider UK initiatives by reducing technological risk and identifying performance bottlenecks. CCS will require substantial capital investment in capture and transport systems and storage complex management. Although elements of the whole chain have been studied through modelling and experimentation, there is little work on whole system assessment. For complex systems such as CCS, whole system assessment is vital ahead of large scale deployment as it identifies critical integration and interaction issues between the components and evaluates whole system performance as a function of component design parameters. Thus the whole system may be optimised; simply optimising the design of individual components is likely to result in a sub-optimal system design. The proposed research methodology is based on multiscale modelling. This involves the development of fit-for-purpose models of the individual components which describe phenomena that operate over different length and time scales and which support integration and data exchange across scales. The reason for this is that relatively localised phenomena (e.g. mass transfer in an amine scrubber) might affect the overall system transient response by limiting the rate at which the power plant flue gas flowrate can be turned up or down. Similarly, the important performance trade-offs in individual component designs must be characterised and used for overall system design. There are a number of important issues to be resolved regarding future CCS systems; the applicants believe that multiscale systems modelling approach is ideal to develop relevant insights and guidance. Examples of the issues to be addressed through whole systems modelling, analysis and optimisation include: - The development and application of a methodology to optimise the time-phased evolution of the whole CCS system design (incorporating its important individual components), including sources to recruit and location of storage sites, balancing long-term and short-term investment imperatives. - Performing integrated assessments of alternative CCS systems, through the application of fit-for-purpose models (e.g. those able to quantify trace emissions of harmful substances) and rigorous life-cycle based analyses. - Characterising the transient performance of the integrated system (how will it perform in actual operation?), understanding whether or not it affects the flexibility of the wider energy system with which it is interfaced, what the safety critical components are and the network's dynamic stability and operability bottlenecks - Understand issues of systems integration - how do the different phenomena associated with the different components in the system cause effects to propagate through the network (e.g. the effect of impurities in captured CO2, the transport network and the storage complex). What are the important considerations that must be taken into consideration when designing and operating the whole system? The outcome of the programme will be relevant to a very wide range of stakeholders interested in CCS, including industry, regulatory and policy agencies and academia. The most important contributions of the project will be: - making available methodologies to design and analyse future CCS systems - generating insights into the most important interactions involved in system design and operation - quantifying (economics, environmental impact, safety & operability) the performance of UK CCS systems
Publications
Canepa R
(2012)
Thermodynamic analysis of combined cycle gas turbine power plant with post-combustion CO 2 capture and exhaust gas recirculation
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering
Chechet Biliyok (Author)
(2013)
Techno-Economic Analysis of a Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant with CO2 capture
in Computer Aided Chemical Engineering
Joel A
(2014)
Process analysis of intensified absorber for post-combustion CO2 capture through modelling and simulation
in International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control
Lazic T
(2013)
Case study on CO 2 transport pipeline network design for Humber region in the UK
in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering
Luo X
(2014)
Simulation-based techno-economic evaluation for optimal design of CO 2 transport pipeline network
in Applied Energy
Oko E
(2014)
Dynamic modelling, validation and analysis of coal-fired subcritical power plant
in Fuel
Olaleye A
(2014)
Techno-economic analysis of chemical looping combustion with humid air turbine power cycle
in Fuel
Description | Findings: (1) Preliminary study by application of process intensification technology into post-combustion carbon capture with solvents indicates that this is a promising future research direction. A steady state model for intensified absorber using rotating packed bed (RPB) was developed and validated with experimental data from literature. The study indicates that mass transfer rates can be improved significantly and the absorber size can reduce to about 8% of its original size. (2) Steady state modelling of chemical looping combustion with carbon capture has been studied. It indicates that the thermal efficiency of power plant with carbon capture can be improved significantly. Detailed study of fluid mechanics inside two reactors are very important. (3) Study in carbon transport through pipelines on estimating of capital and operating costs based on steady state model developed. Several different correlations on predicting pipeline diameter and pressure drop have been compared quantitatively and the best (or most reliable) method pointed out. Working with National Grid UK, we studied a specific case on CO2 transport through pipeline in the UK. |
Exploitation Route | These three key findings have been presented in 3 different international conferences. These three key findings have been published in 4 international leading journals. The carbon transport through pipeline case study was carried out in collaboration with National Grid UK (CCS Group inside the company). This indicates direct knowledge transfer. |
Sectors | Chemicals Education Energy Environment |
Description | Findings: (1) The first finding on applying process intensification into post-combustion capture has been invited to present in UKCCSRC Biannual Meeting in April 2014 (held at University of Cambridge). This attracted strong interest from Alstom Power UK, E.ON UK and PSE Ltd. With their support, a new EPSRC grant has started for systematic research in intensified carbon capture. (2) The third finding on carbon transport was obtained from collaborative study with National Grid UK. This has been used directly by the company. The paper was published in Applied Energy - a leading international journal. (2) The third finding on carbon transport (Lazic et al., 2014) was awarded SAGE Best Paper Prize 2014 and Ludwig Mond Prize 2014 by IMechE. Lazic, T., Oko, E. and Wang, M. (2014), Case study on CO2 transport pipeline network design for Humber Region in the UK, Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, Vol. 228(3), p210-225. |
First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
Sector | Chemicals,Energy,Environment |
Impact Types | Societal Economic Policy & public services |
Description | EPSRC funded Project - Process Intensification for Post-combustion Carbon Capture using Rotating Packed Bed through Systems Engineering Techniques' |
Amount | £1,274,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/M001458/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2014 |
End | 03/2018 |
Description | EU H2020 Low Carbon Energy |
Amount | € 3,200,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 727503 |
Organisation | European Union |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 10/2019 |
Description | EU IRSES Project on Power Plant and Carbon Capture |
Amount | € 352,800 (EUR) |
Funding ID | PIRSES-GA-2013-612230 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2014 |
End | 12/2017 |
Description | Industrial CCS |
Amount | £982,114 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/N024672/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2016 |
End | 10/2019 |
Description | OPTIMAL - EU RISE |
Amount | € 1,205,000 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 101007963 |
Organisation | European Commission |
Sector | Public |
Country | European Union (EU) |
Start | 01/2021 |
End | 12/2024 |
Title | Dynamic Model for RPB Absorber with solvent MEA |
Description | Rotating Packed Bed (RPB) is a technology commonly used for process intensification. RPB Absorber is very different from other Absorber based on packed column. Based on the observations (studying different correlations for mass transfer, heat transfer and reactions), the new model is developed and its validation is ongoing. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | An oral presentation was given in Nov. 2016 during GHGT-13. A research journal paper based on this dynamic model has been submitted and is currently under review. Part of this model is being used for the DECC funded project with CCS Ltd. |
Title | Dynamic model for coal-fired Subcritical Power Plant - Eni Oko |
Description | The detailed and rigorous dynamic model was developed for coal-fired subcritical coal-fired power plants. The model was used in a journal publication in Fuel in 2014. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The model was shared with a Research group at Imperial College London. |
Title | Steady state model for CCGT power plant and PCC using MEA solvent - Roberto Italy |
Description | A detailed and rigorous steady state model for CCGT and PCC using MEA solvent was developed in Aspen Plus. This is further used for detailed performance analysis. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The model was shared with the research group in University of Genova in Italy. More journal publications have been made in 2014 and 2015 |
Title | Steady state model for CO2 transport through pipeline - XiaoBo LUO and National Grid UK plc |
Description | The steady state model for CO2 transport through pipeline was developed in collaboration with National Grid UK plc. |
Type Of Material | Computer model/algorithm |
Year Produced | 2013 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The report based on the steady state model for CO2 pipeline transport was submitted to National Grid UK plc in 2013 and 2014. |
Description | CO2 Pipeline Transport - Case study for the Humber Region in the UK |
Organisation | National Grid UK |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will play a vital role for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions reduction. Pipelines are considered the preferred method for both onshore and offshore large volumes of CO2 transported. In the Humber region in the UK, there are two advanced proposals for CCS power station developments: the Don Valley project and the White Rose (Drax) CCS project, which were expected to provide a basis to develop a pipeline supporting a CCS cluster in this area. We carried out a case study of the pipeline network for the Don Valley and the White Rose CCS projects, representing the possibilities in the Humber area. A model of the pipeline network was developed using the computer software package Aspen HYSYS® and three different operating strategies were compared and discussed regarding their energy and utilities requirement. For all three operating strategies, simulation results show that energy consumption ranges from 96 to 103 kWh/t-CO2 and cooling duty range from about 140 to 147 Mcal/t-CO2 in a wide range of the flow rate of the CO2-rich stream. |
Collaborator Contribution | National Grid - one Manager and one Engineer came to University of Hull for project meetings in Mar. 2013, Sept. 2013 and May 2014. National Grid - The Engineer provide background technical information for the study. National Grid - provided data for model comparison. National Grid - one Manager and one Engineer reviewed different technical reports from University of Hull and provided valuable comments and insights. |
Impact | Three technical reports have been circulated which provided technical predictions. One peer-reviewed Journal paper (Applied Energy) and one peer reviewed Conference paper (ESCAPE24) have been published. Yes, the collaboration is multi-disciplinary involving Pipeline Engineering, Fluid Mechanics and Process Modelling. |
Start Year | 2013 |
Description | A talk or presentation - Research Seminar at Changzhou University, China - Prof Wang |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | I was invited by the President of ChangZhou University - Prof Q. Chen to have an academic visit to ChangZhou University. I was invited to give a Research Seminar on what Process/Energy Systems Engineering can do for Power Plants, Carbon Capture and Utilisation, Bio-Energy & Energy Storage. Lots of questions raised by the audiences (academics & MSc Research students). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://uni.cczu.edu.cn/2017/1215/c8420a173493/page.htm |
Description | Invited Talk by Nigeria LNG & Lagos Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited Talk "Energy Systems Engineering for Power Plants, Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), Energy Storage and Bio-Energy" Prof Meihong Wang (Online) on 16/08/2021 - Event organised by Nigeria LNG company and Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) in Nigeria Weblink: https://www.worldstagegroup.com/nlng-lcci-promote-solutions-in-carbon-reduction-and-bioenergy/ Audience: Government officials, Industrial Managers, Engineers and Academic Staff - over 250 people |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.worldstagegroup.com/nlng-lcci-promote-solutions-in-carbon-reduction-and-bioenergy/ |
Description | Keynote talk given by Prof Meihong Wang at 2nd International Conference on Functional Materials and Chemical Engineering (ICFMCE) in Nov. 2018, Abu Dhabi, UAE |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | In Nov. 2018, Prof Wang was invited to give a keynote talk on "Process/Energy Systems Engineering: CCUS and Beyond...". This is part of the 2nd International Conference on Function Materials and Chemical Engineering (ICFMCE) held in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Around 70 to 80 audiences from over 15 countries joined the session. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Research Seminar - HuaZhaong University of Science & Technology, WuHan, China - Jul. 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | In Jul. 2016, I was invited to give a research seminar on CCS and its latest development. Over 50 academics, researchers, technical staff, postgraduate students joined the event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Research Seminar - ShenHua Group R&D Centre Beijing - Jul. 2016 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | In Jul. 2016, I was invited to visit ShenHua Group R&D Centre in Beijing I was invited to give a research seminar on CCS. Around 23 Engineers, Managers and Researchers joined the seminar. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
Description | Research Seminar at South East University, China on CCS and Future Research Directions - April 2014 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Invited by Prof Chuanlong XU and Prof Jianhong LU at School of Energy and Environment Engineering, SouthEast University. This Seminar took place in April 2014. Majority of the audience are MSc and PhD students in wide energy and environment research areas. Over 100 people joined the Seminar. These future / young researchers were inspired to carry out research to contribute to emission reduction or emissions control. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
URL | http://www.seu.edu.cn |
Description | Research Seminar given by Prof M Wang at XJTU in Apr. 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | In Apr. 2019, Prof Wang was invited to give a research Seminar by Xi'an JiaoTong University, China. Research Seminar title "Process/Energy Systems Engineering for Power Plants, Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), Energy Storage and Bio-Energy" School of Energy and Power, Xi'an Jiaotong University, China Audience: Academic Staff, Postdoc Researchers, PhD students - about 60 people |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://epe.xjtu.edu.cn/info/1101/11396.htm |
Description | Research Seminar given by Prof Meihong Wang at ECUST in Dec. 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Research Seminar title "Process/Energy Systems Engineering for Power Plants, Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU), Energy Storage and Bio-Energy" School of Information Science and Technology, East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST), China Audience: Academic Staff, Postdoc Researchers, PhD students - about 45 people |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://acocp-lab.ecust.edu.cn/2020/0102/c3756a103719/page.htm |
Description | Research Seminar given by Prof Meihong Wang at SouthEast University in April 2018 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | In April 2018, Prof Wang was invited to give a research Seminar on "Process & Energy Systems Engineering: Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and Beyond ...". There were around 150 audiences (mainly MSc and PhD students, also including academics and industrial practitioners) from the city of Nanjing area. Lots of interesting questions from these early career researchers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Research talk at Academy of Sciences, China - Title: Future Direction in Carbon Capture for Power Plants - Mar. 2013 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Contents for the Seminar: 1. Motivations for CCS Research 2. Introduction to CCS 3. Dynamic modelling of Coal-fired Subcritical Power Plant 4. Dynamic Modelling, Validation and Analysis of Post-combustion CO2 Capture with Chemical Absorption 5. Integration between Coal-fired Power Plant with PCC plant 6. Future Research Directions - Process Intensification for Carbon Capture 7. Acknowledgements Organised by Dr Julian White from White Rose Consortium and funded by UK Embassy in China. About 50 academic/research staff and PhD research students joined the Seminar and discussions followed. Some top researchers gave very good suggestions or reminder on how to implement Process Intensification technologies. Some practitioner engineers enthusiastically explored the potential in cost reduction for Carbon Capture. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Research talk at Nanjing University of Science and Technology - Title: Recent Progress in Study of Carbon capture and Transport - Mar. 2013 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
Results and Impact | Seminar Content: 1. Motivations for CCS Research 2. Introduction to CCS 3. Dynamic modelling of Coal-fired Subcritical Power Plant 4. Dynamic Modelling, Validation and Analysis of Post-combustion CO2 Capture with Chemical Absorption 5. Integration between Coal-fired Power Plant with PCC plant 6. Summary/Conclusions 7. Future Research Directions 8. Acknowledgements This is part of the event organised by Dr Julian White from White Rose Consortium and funded by UK Embassy in China. This took place in Mar. 2013. Between 40 to 50 people joined the seminar followed by Questions and Answers. Most of them are academic researchers, some of them are administrative staff from British Embassy in China. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Seminar for School of Engineering, University of Hull - Title: Study in Carbon Capture and Transport for Power Plants with Process Systems Engineering Techniques - Oct. 2013 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Content of the Seminar: 1. Motivations for CCS Research 2. Introduction to CCS 3. Dynamic modelling of Coal-fired Subcritical Power Plant 4. Dynamic Modelling, Validation and Analysis of Post-combustion CO2 Capture with Chemical Absorption 5. Integration between Coal-fired Power Plant with PCC plant 6. Future Research Directions 7. Acknowledgements This took place in Oct. 2013. Around 60 MSc and MEng Students and international visiting students (from Brazil - Science without Board) and PhD research studets join the Research Seminar for 2 hours. Some of the audiences want to do MSc project research in power plant and CCS areas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
Description | Seminar on CCS - North China Electric Power University - April 2013 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Seminar on CCS - North China Electric Power University - April 2013 This was invited by Prof X. Yang in the School of Control and Computer Engineering of the University. around 60 academic staff, PhD, MSc and undergraduates joined the research Seminar. Most of the audiences showed strong interest in power plant and carbon capture. There are lots of questions from the audiences. The most interesting suggestion is to start new research areas in automatic control for integrated power plant and carbon capture plant. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |