CO2 transport by pipeline – safe and economically efficient
In a next step, the captured CO2 has to be transported from the power plant at Hürth near Cologne to the planned storage sites in Northern Germany. In principle, fuel tank trucks, the railways, ships and pipelines are suited for this purpose. A pipeline is the most reliable transport option which is least susceptible to failures.
It obviates the need for any reloading of CO2 as is required with the other options because the power plant and the storage site are directly connected. In spite of high capital expenditure during the construction phase, the pipeline is by comparison the economically most efficient type of transport with minimum losses and the lowest energy consumption. The impact on the population and the environment is also reduced because noise pollution and increased traffic are also avoided. For transportation, the CO2 is first compressed under high pressure. In this so-called "dense phase", the CO2 is fed into the pipeline network. The CO2 is transported to the storage site at an inlet pressure of 200 bar. No intermediate compression is planned along the entire stretch of the pipeline.
The pipeline is operated in such a way that the CO2 cannot change to the gas phase across the entire transportation distance so that uncontrollable pressure surges are avoided. The USA have had sufficient experience with the transportation of CO2 since as early as 1972: At present, CO2 pipelines with a total length of 3.100 km are in operation there all over the country without any problems.
