Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Research Centres
RESEARCH CENTRES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT
Alberta Ingenuity Centre for In Situ Energy (AICISE)
Co-Directors: Dr Pedro Pereira-Almao and Dr. Steve Larter
Website
Development of an underground refinery to recover and upgrade the oil sands is the objective of this centre. There should be virtually no greenhouse gas emissions, limited consumption of natural gas and negligible water and diluent requirements. The research focuses on the development and ultra dispersion of nanoparticle-sized catalysts within the reservoir. The key will be providing the optimum temperature for the catalysts to generate hydrogen from steam or some of the bitumen. This will require the development of innovative monitoring of the underground conditions through fluid chemistry, seismic and geochemistry techniques. The Ingenuity Centre is part of the Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy.
Centre for Environmental Engineering Research and Education (CEERE)
Director: Dr. Anil Mehrotra
Website
Environmental Engineering is a multidisciplinary field of research that spans chemical, civil, mechanical and petroleum engineering disciplines and involves collaborative research efforts and co-supervision of graduate students. Dispersion of pollutants and remediation, including the expanding field of bioremediation, are focus areas for these researchers.
Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF)
Director: Dr. Leo Behie
Website
The Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF) is a state-of-the-art level II tissue culture laboratory with an attached pilot plant. Researchers have an extensive and impressive amount of experience in a multitude of bioengineering areas, including the development of human viral vaccines, protein expression, pharmaceutical scale-up, modeling cell behaviour and the development of bioreactor related technologies. More recently the focus has shifted to stem-cell bioengineering.
Tomographic Imaging and Porous Media (TIPM) Laboratory
Director: Dr. Apostolos Kantzas
Website
TIPM Laboratory is a University of Calgary affiliate that conducts research in the areas of flow through porous media, chemical reactor engineering, environmental engineering and bioengineering. This facility is one of the largest tomographic analysis laboratories in North America. Research highlights include enhanced oil and gas recovery, magnetic resonance sensor development for the oil and gas industry and the environmental industry, and research on multiphase flow phenomena in chemical reactors. The institute has patented technology on magnetic resonance multi-phase metering and wastewater treatment using a photocatalytic reactor.
Institute for Sustainable Energy, Environment and Economy
Executive Director: Dr. David Layzell
Website
The institute was established in 2003 to provide leadership and coordination for developing and implementing energy- and environment-related initiatives at the university. It aims to be a global leader in generating multi-disciplinary insights and technologies to inform policy and investment decisions that will lead to more sustainable energy systems.