Description of the work

In industrial plants and conventional fossil-fuelled power plants, it is not always possible to create exhaust gas streams in which only ‘climate-neutral CO2’ is released due to a change in technology. In such cases, it is necessary to separate ‘climate-active CO2’ from these exhaust gas streams using carbon dioxide separation technology, e.g. by means of scrubbing or membrane separation processes. The CO2 separated in this way can then be transported for permanent underground storage, e.g. in depleted natural gas reservoirs.

The research work will initially be tackled with the aim of identifying the largest Austrian carbon dioxide emitters and identifying the CO2 mass flows occurring there, which are to be transported by pipeline towards a final storage site. The CO2 transport pipelines are to be dimensioned on the basis of the CO2 mass flows determined, whereby both the transport of gaseous carbon dioxide and the transport of liquefied carbon dioxide are to be subjected to an evaluative comparison.

Proposals will then be made for possible pipeline routes to a transfer point on the German-Austrian border.

Depending on the proposed pipeline routes, the number of compressor stations will be determined, their dimensions determined and their technological designs discussed from the point of view of gaseous or liquid CO2 transport. 

Finally, an approximate estimate of the construction and operating costs of the proposed pipelines will be carried out using accounting programmes (Capex/Opex).