CARBON CAPTURE
CCS could herald massive pipeline investments
Carbon Capture and Storage – CCS for short – is a relatively new field of endeavour, whereby carbon dioxide( a wellknown greenhouse gas) is recovered from waste streams in industrial processes such as petroleum refining, steel production and cement-making, as well as from fossil-fired power plants. The captured carbon dioxide can then be sequestered underground in suitable rock formations or utilised in other industrial processes, such as the soft drinks industry, etc. Investment in longdistance pipelines is a prerequisite if large-scale CCS is to be achieved.
By KCI Editorial
One of the challenges in creating a viable CCS infrastructure is the development of a transportation network, given both the volumes of carbon dioxide typically involved as well as the large distances between industrial hubs and storage locations. Consider the Northern Lights Project in Bergen, Norway, which in August this year received its first carbon dioxide from a cement plant in Brevik – a journey of easily 700 km / 430 miles by sea. The Northern Lights terminal boasts its own harbour designed to receive tankers carrying liquefied carbon dioxide. From the terminal, the carbon dioxide is further pumped through a 100 km / 60-mile pipeline for injection into the Aurora reservoir under the North Sea. In other geographies, pipelines are seen as a logical option. Indeed, the United
Illustrative image
States can point to a dedicated carbon dioxide pipeline network of some 8,500 km / 5,300 miles, which has existed for many decades. Note, however, that this network is primarily used for enhanced oil recovery in the Gulf Coast region. Companies looking to build new carbon dioxide pipelines often have to overcome multiple hurdles, including regulatory issues, siting challenges, uncertain returns on investment, plus opposition from local residents and landowners. For example, Summit Carbon Solutions has plans to build a 4,000 km / 2,500-mile branched pipeline to transport carbon dioxide from nearly 60 ethanol plants in the Midwest to an underground sequestration site in North Dakota, enabling the fuel to be used for sustainable aviation fuel and sold into low-carbon markets such as California.
22 Valve World November 2025 www. valve-world. net