Research Areas - Environment
ENVIRONMENT
Energy and the environment are integrally connected as many of the energy challenges that face the global community have their origins in the conventional energy industry.
The environmental researchers in the department collaborate extensively with researchers in other engineering disciplines to conceptualize and design new methodologies or to optimize existing processes for reducing or remediating contaminated soil, water and air. The implications of global warming have researchers investigating greenhouse gas mitigation. This includes methods to capture and store carbon dioxide and the associated risks. The research encompasses technical, economic and regulatory aspects of carbon dioxide management.
The philosophy of recycle, reduce and reuse is incorporated into the research. There is a continuing focus that the processes that chemical engineers develop to convert raw materials to valuable products must leave a minimal environmental footprint.
Environment Research Faculty
Jalal Abedi, Alex De Visscher, Thomas Harding, Maen Husein, Apostolos Kantzas, Nader Mahinpey, Anil Mehrotra
Air Pollution Control
Researchers are using photocatalysis to investigate the kinetics of the degradation of pollutants and of the generation and subsequent destruction of reaction products, a more refined feasibility analysis and scale-up are conducted.
Solutions are also sought to carry out reactions Research using non-thermal plasma involves the generation of high-energy species in a gas phase, which oxidize a wide range of air pollutants. Experimental studies on the characteristic stream will be conducted with a range of operating conditions to determine the optimum residence time and operating voltage and also to investigate chemical interaction between different molecules. The dispersion of chemical and biological agents (contaminants) in urban areas is a security concern. High performance computing is an effective tool to predict the level of contaminant concentrations.
Biodegradation and Remediation
Clean up of contaminated soil/land is an industrial environmental concern, particularly for the petroleum industry.
This research initiative targets the development of efficient physico-chemical methods for the treatment of soils. The fundamentals of methane oxidation by biofiltration are investigated as this technique reduces the greenhouse gas effects.
Other areas of investigation include:
- Life cycle analysis of energygeneration systems
- transport and final destination ofprimary and secondary pollutants in the atmosphere
- impact of hydrocarbon contaminants on groundwater in fractured sandstone and mudstone bedrock.
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation
The research explores advanced fossil and non-fossil energy systems, linking fundamental research with economics and policy analysis, risk assessment and social science aimed at understanding how individual values shape energy and environmental choices.
Integrated Assessment
Linking together processes for capturing the carbon content of fossil fuels while generating carbon-free energy products, such as electricity and hydrogen, and sequestering the resulting CO2, could lower CO2 emissions. Many of the technologies are well known. The research focuses on: risk assessment, modeling and mitigation; regulatory design; economics; public perception; and technical and economic analysis of biomass fuels.
CO2 Sequestration
Research is being conducted on how injected CO2 improves oil recovery, especially in naturally fractured reservoirs. In addition, research is being conducted to enhance the understanding and improve modeling of different mechanisms of CO2 trapping in oil reservoirs and aquifers. Systematic analysis is being undertaken by researchers to provide a quantitative assessment of the probability of leakage. This research applies advanced statistical reservoir modeling techniques and is being integrated with research on understanding how risks can be mitigated and economically managed.
Water Resource Management
Research within the department is concentrated in remediation methods with particular interest in the removal of hydrocarbons from water.
Reuse of Produced Water
The petroleum industry continuously seeks beneficial ways to reduce, reuse or recycle produced water. The net water consumption for SAGD can be reduced if the produced water is recycled through the boilers and steamers. The research is investigating scaling and heat transfer of produced water on a variety of alloys used in the construction of boilers and steamers. Research on reuse is aimed at reducing salinity and removal of heavy metals and organic compounds.
Reactor
The production of oil and gas, on occasion, has also been the source of hydrocarbon contaminated water and air streams. In a multidisciplinary program with the Department of Chemistry, a photo-catalytic reactor has been developed that can purify dilute water streams that are contaminated with organic pollutants. The same technique is applied for disinfecting water that contains E.coli.