Modelling of source term from accidental release of pressurised CO2

Abstract Storage and transportation in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology involve dealing with CO 2 at high pressures, which can lead to accidental releases. To assess and control risks and to calculate the minimum safe distance from tanks and pipelines to populated areas, the source term model of the leakage is extremely important, as it serves as input to model the dispersion of CO 2 into the atmosphere. The modelling of high pressurised CO 2 releases is relatively complex due to its thermofluidynamics particularities. Its triple point pressure is higher than the atmospheric pressure and it has a relatively high Joule–Thomson coefficient depending on the temperature and pressure conditions. Hence, it might lead to a two-phase flow and to solid formation when the depressurisation to atmospheric pressure occurs. Also, the molecular vibration of CO 2 might be important in some leakage scenarios. There are several approaches in the literature which address differently the aspects of the flow, specially regarding thermal and mechanical equilibrium or non-equilibrium. The present work provides an innovative approach for the discharge calculation in accidental high pressure releases. The Homogeneous Non-Equilibrium Model (HNM) is proposed, which accounts for non-equilibrium effects regarding not only metastability but also vibrational relaxation of the molecule. It considers the possible phase transitions and dry ice formation and it is applicable to steady-flow conditions. The model was tested with experimental data from CO2PIPETRANS project, HSE experiments and Cooltrans research programme. It was found that the model works well leading to results which agree with available experimental data. The proposed source model is relatively simple to implement and it does not demand numerical effort. The discussed discharge approach for CO 2 releases emerges as a good alternative to existing models.