Session 14. Oral Presentation for: CO2 dispersion benchmarking against natural gas dispersion
Fariba Askari A * and Derek Cross A *A
Fariba Askari is a Consultant Engineer at Gexcon with 14 years of experience in the hydrocarbon and renewable energy industries. She holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering and an MSc in Safety and Risk Engineering. Her expertise includes CFD modelling and technical safety analysis for major projects. |
Derek Cross is the Team Lead for Gexcon Australia and a mechanical engineer with 25 years of experience in process safety and risk management. He has worked on greenfield and brownfield projects with companies like Worley, ConocoPhillips and Santos, helping industries manage safety risks in oil and gas, mining, CCUS, hydrogen and batteries. |
Abstract
Presented on 28 May 2025: Session 14
This paper aims to enhance the understanding of professionals involved in the development, engineering, operation and regulation of gas processing systems, particularly with respect to carbon capture and storage (CCS), regarding gas dispersion analysis. Traditionally, knowledge in this area is derived from experience in natural gas projects and simplified simulation analyses. This study investigates gas dispersion behaviour in the presence of obstructions during accidental methane and CO2 releases using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations with FLACS (FLame ACceleration Software). By modelling obstructed dispersion scenarios for both gases, the assessment examines the influence of operating conditions, facility layout and environmental factors. The study highlights similarities and differences in CO2 and methane cloud development, offering insights into their dispersion characteristics. FLACS CFD modelling provides a detailed representation of transient and steady-state cloud behaviour, including obstruction effects, compared to free-field dispersion models like ‘EFFECTS’ or ‘Phast’, which, while faster and more user-friendly, offer a more simplified analysis. This comparison underscores the advantages of high-fidelity CFD simulations in complex gas dispersion scenarios. The results indicate that simplified methodologies may fail to fully capture cloud extent and, in some cases, underestimate associated risks.
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Keywords: carbon dioxide, carbon capture, CFD modelling, FLACS simulation, gas dispersion, methane, obstructed release, risk assessment.
Fariba Askari is a Consultant Engineer at Gexcon with 14 years of experience in the hydrocarbon and renewable energy industries. She holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering and an MSc in Safety and Risk Engineering. Her expertise includes CFD modelling and technical safety analysis for major projects. |
Derek Cross is the Team Lead for Gexcon Australia and a mechanical engineer with 25 years of experience in process safety and risk management. He has worked on greenfield and brownfield projects with companies like Worley, ConocoPhillips and Santos, helping industries manage safety risks in oil and gas, mining, CCUS, hydrogen and batteries. |
