New pump and mechanical seal designs improve CO2 

injection.

Interest in CO2 pumps has grown significantly in the past two years, driven by two factors—CO2 capture and storage
(CCS) for greenhouse gas reduction and CO2 injection for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR). CCS is new technology.
The current industry focus is concentrated on pilot and demonstration testing of the necessary technologies which
include concentrating the CO2 from the stack gas, pressurizing the CO2 for delivery to pipelines and monitoring the
storage reservoir to ensure that the CO2 will not escape.

By contrast, CO2 EOR applications were perfected in the early 1980s by several major oil companies
in Texas’Permian Basin. Current operators are expanding the CO2 floods in Texas, and oil companies around the
world are developing new projects spurred by the success of CO2 EOR and the increase in oil prices.  

Natural reservoirs—such as those in Colorado, New Mexico and Mississippi—supply the majority of the CO2used for
EOR today. Other sources include coal gasification plants and natural gas treating plants. The CO2 is transported
from these sources via pipelines operating above the critical pressure of CO2.

Pumping CO2

CO2 can be pumped as liquid or as a dense phase fluid when the pressure exceeds the critical pressure of 74 bara
(1,072 psia), and the density change between the suction and discharge conditions, known as compressibility, is less
than 15 percent. This corresponds to a temperature of less than about 50 deg C (122 deg F). Because the actual
limitation for pumping is the compressibility of the CO2, other factors affect the maximum temperature limit including
pressure, pump efficiency and fluid composition.

Pumping dense phase CO2 requires some modifications to the pump selection method. Normal liquids are nearly
incompressible, meaning that the change in density from the suction to the discharge is negligible. The low
compressibility results in a nearly isothermal process. Dense phase fluids, however, are compressible resulting in a
process closer to the polytropic compression process.

Investigations by pump OEMs have shown that the equivalent water head-capacity of a dense phase pump can be
derived by considering the pump as a single-stage compressor with no interstage heat exchange and characterized
by an adiabatic (isentropic) compression followed by isobaric heating due to the inefficiencies of the machine. Figure
1 shows this process. Field experience has shown this assumption to hold and that pump selections made in this
manner meet the required accuracy for field operations.
Figure 1. CO2 Pumping Process

Contaminants such as nitrogen and hydrocarbons, mostly methane, affect the thermodynamic properties. Figure 2,
which uses data presented by Kaufmann (2009), shows that density can decrease significantly with minor
concentrations of methane. While pipeline applications tend to be close to 99 percent pure CO2, the recycled CO2 in
EOR applications generally has hydrocarbon contamination greater than 2 percent, and care must be taken to
adequately characterize the CO2 so that the pump OEM can accurately size the pump.
Figure 2. Affects of Impurities on CO2 Density

Pump Types

The first CO2 pipeline and injection pumps were installed in 1982. These were single-stage, high-flow pipeline booster
pumps (API type BB2) and multistage, high-pressure injection pumps (API type BB3). In typical API type BB2 pumps,
a radial split casing is used to seal the high suction pressure, around 135 bar (2,000 psi). Head requirements are
generally around 200 m (660 ft), and only one impeller stage is required. Large impeller diameters, 400 mm (16 in) to
660 mm (26 in) for corresponding flows of 153 Mm3/h (130 MMscf/d) to 1,650 Mm3/h (1,400 MMscf/d), result in pump
efficiencies of 85 percent or higher at the best efficiency point (BEP).

Injection pumps require higher pressure differentials than pipeline booster pumps and, therefore, require multistage
configurations. In API type BB3 axial split, multistage pump, suction pressures are less than booster applications but
still typically above 100 bar (1,450 psi). Discharge pressures are in the range of 150 bar (2,200 psi) to 275 bar (4,000
psi). Flows range from 14 Mm3/h (12 MMscf/d) up to 472 Mm3/h (400 MMscf/d). Two to 11 stages are used to
produce the head, and efficiencies typically run around 75 percent to 80 percent at BEP.

When extremely high injection pressures are needed, double case pumps (API type BB5) can be used. Double case
pumps are capable of maximum allowed working pressures (MAWP) in excess of 600 bar (8,700 psi) and differential
pressures greater than 550 bar (7,900 psi).

The pumps described above meet the requirements in API 610, which is the recognized standard for heavy duty
pumps in the oil and gas industry. The use of API compliant pumps, coupled with the fact that most CO2 in pipelines
and EOR service is clean and free of liquid and solid contaminants, (rust, scale, sand, etc.), have resulted in high
reliability. API 610 pumps in CO2 service routinely exceed five years mean time between failure (MTBF), and several
pipeline booster pumps have documented MTBF in excess of nine years.

Design Considerations

Beyond fluid compressibility, several other factors must be considered when pumping dense phase CO2, including
the physical properties of the CO2 and the high pressures involved in the application.

CO2 has a low lubricity and will not support a pump rotor as water or other liquids can. This can result in contact
between the close clearance areas, such as the wear rings. In the case of BB2 or BB3 style pumps, the typical
solution is to replace the stationary wear parts, the wear rings and center bushings, with either a graphite
impregnated material, such as Graphalloy®, or a non-metallic material, such as PEEK. For BB5 style pumps, the
solution is to design the rotor so that, at rest, a finite clearance is always between the rotor and case, commonly
referred to as large-shaft designs.

CO2 can also be damaging to elastomers. Soft elastomers will absorb high-pressure CO2, and when the pressure is
released, explosive decompression can result. The solution is to use elastomers that are resistant to explosive
decompression, which include higher hardness compounding.

While radial split pumps are designed for high suction and discharge pressures, modifications to axial split casings
are needed to seal the CO2. Axial split casings have a large sealing surface and unconfined sheet-type gaskets,
which pose greater sealing difficulties.
To help ensure good sealing of the casing joint, one side of the casing joint is typically machined with a slight taper,
also known as crowning, shown in Figure 3. This increases the clamping force on the gasket. Additionally, the surface
finish of the flange is controlled to provide better adhesion of the flat gasket to the flange.

Figure 3. Casing flange modifications

Figure 4. API Plan 11 seal flush

Figure 5. API Plan 76 seal flush 

Figure 6. Wavy face non-contact seal

Mechanical Seals

The low lubricity of CO2 also complicates the mechanical seals. The first CO2 pumps used double or triple
pressurized mechanical seals with an oil barrier at a pressure higher than seal chamber, API plan 54. These systems
were extremely complex, consumed large amounts of power, and were difficult to operate.

Non-contacting gas seal technology, similar to those used in compressors, soon replaced the pressurized mechanical
seals and offered simpler systems that were significantly more reliable. The gas control panels often contain a
product heater, to maintain the CO2 in the gaseous phase; filters; and pressure control. Seal life has been reported as
high as 50,000 hr MTBF. When failures occur, they are most often caused by liquid reaching the seal faces, a
condition that occurs only at startup or during operational misadventures.

Dual unpressurized seals operating on the dense phase fluid have been successfully employed in recent years. They
use simple API plan 11 seal flush systems (Figure 7). A vent to atmosphere is used on the secondary side, as in API
Plan 76 shown in Figure 8. Flush rates are as high as 5.5 m3/h (24 gpm), and these seals tend to be intolerant to
contamination.

New seal designs using wave face technology are being applied that combine the advantages of non-contacting gas
seals and liquid seals. These use light contacting primary seals which operate on the dense phase CO2 combined
with secondary seals operating on gaseous CO2. The wave technology, shown in Figure 9, creates the optimum load
support at the seal faces by allowing fluid to enter at the wave valleys and exit at the wave peaks. Face contact load
and heat generation are a fraction of typical contacting seals and the smooth profile resists contamination. API plan
11 / 76 seal flush systems are used, which eliminate the complex dry gas flush systems, and flush rates are typically
lower than 1.4 m3/h (6 gpm).

Much has been learned since the first dense phase CO2 pumps were designed in the early 1980s. Shop testing and
field experience have validated the selection process. The performance test requirements of API 610 assure the
users that the pump will meet the required field performance. API 610 mechanical requirements, coupled with simple
modifications to pump components, allow pumps, in many situations, to exceed five years MTBF with some
exceeding nine years MTBF. Finally, new mechanical seals using modified face topography offer simple designs that
are easy to maintain while keeping operating costs low.

References

Kaufmann, K.D. CO2 Pipelines - Conclusion: Impurity Types, Concentration Influence Hydraulic Design. Oil & Gas
J. (19 April, 2010), 60 – 63.

Nomenclature

h = enthalpy, kJ/kg [Btu/lbm]

p = pressure, bar [psi]

s = entropy, kJ/kg deg C [Btu/lbm deg F]

T = temperature, deg C [ deg F]

γ = specific gravity

η = efficiency

ρ = density 

Upstream Pumping Solutions, Fall 2010

Marc Fontaine is the oil and gas marketing manager for Flowserve Solutions Group in  Houston, Texas. He is
responsible for the strategic planning of Flowserve’s oil and gas business and is involved in the development and
marketing of Flowserve’s special products line, which includes multiphase and subsea pumps. During his 20 years in
the oil and gas industry, Fontaine has held positions in reservoir, production and facilities engineering as well as
strategic procurement and project management. Fontaine joined Mobil Oil in 1989 after graduating with a BS in
petroleum engineering from  Texas A&M University