Modelling the capillary entrapment phenomena and integrity of geological reservoirs for clean energy, water and waste management technologies. This project will improve our understanding of non-linear flow and fracture phenomena in porous media which is prerequisite for the development of new emerging technologies targeting the reduction of the greenhouse gas emission and development of effective waste and water management solutions including coal gasification, in-situ storage of natural and non ....Modelling the capillary entrapment phenomena and integrity of geological reservoirs for clean energy, water and waste management technologies. This project will improve our understanding of non-linear flow and fracture phenomena in porous media which is prerequisite for the development of new emerging technologies targeting the reduction of the greenhouse gas emission and development of effective waste and water management solutions including coal gasification, in-situ storage of natural and non-hydrocarbon gases, underground disposal of hazardous wastes and vadose zone remediation. The project will result in a dramatic improvement of the predictive tools for traditional ground water management, irrigation and petroleum recovery applications. It has the strength to place Australia in the forefront of these technologies. Read moreRead less
Dynamic Gas Permeability Investigations of Highly Stressed Coals. Coal Bed Methane (CBM) is an emerging energy resource in Australia, which has multi-billion dollar CBM reserves. Gas is clean burning, produces little greenhouse gas and almost no disruption to surface activities (like farming) during extraction. These environmental benefits, with low cost, make gas the fuel of choice for power and heat worldwide. This project seeks to assist development of CBM engineering from deep coal seams. Th ....Dynamic Gas Permeability Investigations of Highly Stressed Coals. Coal Bed Methane (CBM) is an emerging energy resource in Australia, which has multi-billion dollar CBM reserves. Gas is clean burning, produces little greenhouse gas and almost no disruption to surface activities (like farming) during extraction. These environmental benefits, with low cost, make gas the fuel of choice for power and heat worldwide. This project seeks to assist development of CBM engineering from deep coal seams. These contain the most gas, but are technically more difficult to develop than shallower reservoirs. In particular, it examines how natural and induced stress fields can be used to improve productivity, by understanding the relationships between different coal types, their environment and gas production rate.Read moreRead less
Flue Gas and CO2 Geosequestration in Surat and Bowen Basin Coals. Climate change considerations require that CO2 emissions to atmosphere be severely reduced. This is best done in the short term by permanently storing the CO2 underground. Amongst the cheapest and safest options are to use coal seams, which then release valuable methane. The market value of this extra methane is ~$9billion and this reduces the cost of sequestration from ~$56 to $25/t CO2. Coal has a very strong affinity for CO2, ....Flue Gas and CO2 Geosequestration in Surat and Bowen Basin Coals. Climate change considerations require that CO2 emissions to atmosphere be severely reduced. This is best done in the short term by permanently storing the CO2 underground. Amongst the cheapest and safest options are to use coal seams, which then release valuable methane. The market value of this extra methane is ~$9billion and this reduces the cost of sequestration from ~$56 to $25/t CO2. Coal has a very strong affinity for CO2, so flue gas stream from power stations can be injected directly, eliminating the need for equipment to capture the CO2, providing savings of ~$500million for each large power station.Read moreRead less
Dynamic behaviour of foams. Foam flow occurs in many industrial processes such as the fractionation of proteins and coal flotation. The proposed research will investigate transient behaviour at start-up of such processes and how the method of foam production affects process efficiency. The dispersion of liquid tracers in foam and a newly discovered phenomenon of ?upwards rippling? will be studied as it is likely that these could illuminate the physical processes that lay behind foam flow. Remova ....Dynamic behaviour of foams. Foam flow occurs in many industrial processes such as the fractionation of proteins and coal flotation. The proposed research will investigate transient behaviour at start-up of such processes and how the method of foam production affects process efficiency. The dispersion of liquid tracers in foam and a newly discovered phenomenon of ?upwards rippling? will be studied as it is likely that these could illuminate the physical processes that lay behind foam flow. Removal of unwanted material from a pipeline is often a major industrial problem and the ability of foams to perform this role will be assessed.Read moreRead less