Summary of policy background on CCS

For some years, the Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) has been studying the possibility of storing CO2 in the ocean. To this end, NERSC has developed and applied various numerical models of the dissolution process, and for transportation and mixing of CO2 in the ocean. From environmental and oceanographic points of view, it has been shown to be advantageous to transport the CO2 to depths greater than 500 m through the use of modern technology and especially when storing CO2 from large facilities such as gas or coal-fired power plants. In this case, the added costs of increasing injection depths to 1000-1500 m may prove to be acceptable. Studies have suggested that the estimated costs of dissolving CO2 in seawater compare favourably with those of other large-scale mitigation strategies.

Dissolution of CO2 in seawater reduces the pH of the CO2-enriched water and potentially, this could have a detrimental effects on marine life. For many organisms, very little is known about the potential effects of lowered pH. However, if rapid dilution is obtained near an injection point, detrimental impact will be minimised. Thus, controlled laboratory experiments in pressurised tanks, in situ field tests and ecological studies on the impact on marine life are required before a firm decision on implementation on large scale can be made.

An interdisciplinary group (The Bergen CO2 Group) has been established in Bergen to develop and implement concepts for the determination of processes actively involved with the storage of CO2 in the oceans. The group has expertise on climate and ocean sciences that include marine biology, and underwater technology. The Group, comprising theoreticans and experimental scientists, is presently defining a pilot project that would include further theoretical studies, plus experiments in pressurised test tanks and in a fjord. This will determine how the CO2 reacts with seawater, and the ecological conditions around the injection site. Furthermore, methods of transportation and injection will be tested and developed. The pilot project will lead to an assessment for large-scale implementation.

NERSC is actively engaged in the Klimatek Programme and as part of their contribution towards this, have developed a two-phase droplet/seawater model. The model has already been applied in connection with the CTI ocean storage of CO2 experiment scheduled to be carried out in Hawaii. The model is an extension of an already existing non-hydrostatic Navier Stokes solver, used at NERSC for different process studies

Project aims

To provide data on various processes taking place during CO2 injection with a view to minimising uncertainties associated with the process

Purpose of work

Contribution Towards Solving Global Problem,Clearer Understanding of Processes Involved in Ocean Storage

Project funding sources

KLIMATEK and partner sources

Expected key deliverables

Technical reports
Predictive computer models

Emissions source

N/A

Type of organisation

Research Centre

Key project tasks

To develop numerical models for understanding and predicting processes associated with CO2 ocean storagel To define future R&D requirements for a pilot-scale project in terms of theoretical and experimental testing required