Two-Phase CO2 Flow Behavior in Horizontal Piping

Abstract Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) technology relies on the cost-effective transport of CO2 between capture and storage/utilization sites in pipeline networks. The presence of anthropogenic impurities can shift the critical point of the mixture and variation in the ambient temperature can significantly alter the transport behavior, including generating multiphase flow. A flow loop was used to gather pressure drop, liquid holdup, and phase distribution of two-phase CO2 in horizontal 3-inch piping. The data were used to compare to industry flow pattern maps and to validate a drift-flux two-phase CO2 model that predicts behaviors of CO2 flow in pipelines. Only stratified, stratified-churn, and dispersed flow patterns were observed for mass flow rates up to 18 lb/s and void fractions up to 50%. The validation results show that the drift flux model has good agreement in both liquid holdup and pressure drop.