Carbon capture and storage (CCS)

A research report, RR1121 ‘Overview of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects at HSE’s Buxton Laboratory’, recently published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides an overview of applied scientific work on CCS undertaken at HSE’s Buxton Laboratory. The work includes laboratory-scale and field-scale experiments, evaluation of complex dispersion models for dense-phase carbon dioxide releases, development of decision support tools for pipeline risk assessment and publication of best practice guidelines. In particular, work has focussed on assessing the hazards posed by the accidental release of dense-phase carbon dioxide transported by pipeline. The research has been primarily funded by HSE and industry, with support from the European Union.

HSE’s scientific work is intended to help reduce both the risks and costs of any future development of industrial-scale CCS by contributing to the assessment and control of risks early in the design and deployment of the technology. The research has contributed to the scientific evidence base that, if CCS is deployed in with UK, will inform HSE policy decisions to ensure that the regulatory framework for pipelines is effective and proportionate to the potential risks associated with CCS.