Digital Energy Journal- ABB and Pace CCS – digital tools for CCS operations

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ABB and Pace CCS – digital tools for CCS operations

Thursday, September 26, 2024

CCS projects can be complex to operate. A combined solution from ABB and Pace CCS, with advanced systems combined with digital twins developed specifically for CCS projects, could make it easier.

A lack of operational and design experience is a major hurdle to mainstream adoption with companies reluctant to invest without clear knowledge of how things will work on the ground, at every stage of the process.

One of the problems which delayed startup of Australia's Gorgon CCS project by two years related to corrosion risk, says Matt Healey, managing director of global engineering company specialising in CCS projects, Pace CCS. Similarly, Canada's Quest CCS project had issues with salt precipitation in the reservoir, he says.

This is a simplified telling of some of the problems encountered by CCS projects.

But it illustrates how critical it is to be able to fully model and monitor a carbon capture and storage system from design stage, testing scenarios to deliver proof of concept to give customers both peace of mind that the system design is fit for purpose and shows how they can smoothly transition into CCS operations.

In the oil and gas industry, simulation like this is commonplace. In a relatively new industry like carbon capture, the same approach is necessary. But it is also more complex in the sense that CCS operations must work at full capacity, being online constantly.

'The key to any successful CCS project is availability ensuring the CCS network is always operable,' Mr Healey says.

Taking all this into account, ABB and Pace CCS have joined forces, combining ABB's software, control system and systems operations expertise with the digital twin from Pace CCS.

This should make the capture, transportation, and storage of industrial emissions more accessible, making it easier for industry to implement CCS infrastructure and in doing so lowering the CAPEX and operational investment required to enter the market.

'Together, we have developed digital twin technology that provides a virtual replica of a real, physical CCS process or facility,' says Nigel Greatorex, Global Industry Manager for CCS at ABB Energy Industries.

"This digital twin models the full value chain of a CCS system, something existing software cannot do."

The complete chain

The CCS value chain begins with the capture of CO2 from large industrial sources, which generally use fossil fuels or biomass for fuel, or directly from the atmosphere.

At a design level, the biggest cost in CCS is capture. Captured CO2 contains impurities which adds risk. These impurities must be separated, purified, and then compressed before being transported for reuse or injected into reservoirs for storage. The digital twin considers the impurities and as a result can monitor and reduce the amount of power needed to pressurize and heat the CO2.

'When we model CO2 flows, we need a series of process models (to model out how equipment will operate), flow assurance models (to model out how the CO2 will flow through a pipeline) and reservoir models (to model how CO2 will behave when injected into a reservoir),' Mr Greatorex says.

'The modelling process breaks down the pipeline into tiny parts, as with finite element analysis, Mr Healey says.

'It evaluates what temperature and pressure CO2 will have in that section, and so what phase it will be in (gas, dense phase or two phases), and how it will flow.

This is important because energy is not always easy to get to on a CCS network.

There is not always a source of power at the point of injection or the midpoint of a pipeline or even excess power at the capture source. By deploying a digital twin, operators can be sure the plant is not over-compressing or overheating, resulting in significant OPEX savings.'

The partnership formed between ABB and Pace CCS addresses the above.
Pace CCS are the experts in designing CCS networks, while ABB are the experts in operational performance systems.

'With our digital twin solution, we harness the expertise from both our organizations, providing a consistent approach from design through to operations, providing operators with the confidence they can achieve the required high availability allowing CCS investments to proceed,' Mr Greatorex says.

'The solution not only maps out various scenarios in the design phase, but when in operation it will react to incidents in real time.

'We plan to add ABB Ability OPTIMAX into the mix, which will deliver an energy management system which can forecast and manage power consumption.'

CMG for subsurface

Separately, ABB has recently begun a collaboration with Canada based Computer Modelling Group (CMG), a specialist in subsurface modelling.

Their addition will ensure a complete end-to end solution is on offer, with the above ground digital twin mirrored by one that models the subsurface, tracking the carbon dioxide as it is injected underground.

As a result, ABB and its partners Pace CCS and CMG, will be able to deliver software solutions for all the stages of a CCS project, from design through to operations and maintenance.

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