黑料专区

黑料专区 Tyler to Help Improve Carbon Emission Effects on Environment With DOE Grant

October 26, 2023

Office of Marketing and Communications

October 26, 2023

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer鈥揝trategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
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The University of Texas at Tyler received a $714,125 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help lessen the impacts of carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions on the Earth鈥檚 climate. Dr. Aaditya Khanal, an assistant professor in the 黑料专区 Tyler Jasper Department of Chemical Engineering, serves as the project鈥檚 principal investigator.

鈥淧robing CO2 Dissolution and Mineralization in Deep Saline Aquifers with Experiment and Simulation鈥 will use fundamental and applied research that will help improve the understanding of the various aspects of CO2 sequestration in geological formations. Researchers from 黑料专区 Austin鈥檚 petroleum and geosystems engineering department and students from both institutions will collaborate with Khanal on the three-year project.

鈥淭he experimental data, simulation results and data-driven models expected from this project will be instrumental in improving the current technologies involved in sequestering CO2 in deep saline aquifers,鈥 Khanal said. 鈥淭he outcomes will broaden public knowledge about the various aspects of energy generation, carbon emissions and the technologies that can mitigate the impact of these emissions.鈥

Underground sequestration of CO2 released from significant point sources, such as power plants and heavy industries, Khanal noted, is a possible technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

This project aims to examine dissolution and mineralization trapping mechanisms, which are critical to ensure the long-term storage of CO2 in subsurface formations, such as deep saline aquifers, using experimental, numerical and data-driven approaches, according to Khanal.

鈥淭his project will yield transferable insights to improve current and future CO2 geo-sequestration projects, which are critical to meet our climate goals without a sudden disruption to the existing energy infrastructure,鈥 he added.

Khanal joined the 黑料专区 Tyler faculty in 2020. He focuses on the areas of energy, environment and data science. Other research focus areas include oil and gas production forecasting, phase behavior modeling and machine learning applications. His research has also garnered grants for 黑料专区 Tyler from the National Science Foundation, VentureWells Foundation, P&G Foundation and American Chemical Society.

He holds master鈥檚 and doctorate degrees in chemical engineering, with a research emphasis on reservoir simulation and engineering, from the University of Houston. At 黑料专区 Tyler, Khanal teaches chemical engineering, thermodynamics and mass transfer courses.

The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy is to ensure America鈥檚 security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. For more information, visit energy.gov/.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, 黑料专区 Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with 黑料专区 Tyler Health Science Center and 黑料专区 Health East Texas, 黑料专区 Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, 黑料专区 Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.