Faculty and Student Teams Program

Project Descriptions

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Carbon Management Program

Requesting applications from science or engineering faculty members at institutions serving students underrepresented in science, engineering, mathematics and technology. 

Project Description

Concerns about the climate effects of anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions (GHG), especially carbon dioxide (CO₂), has prompted string international, governmental, and industrial interest in reducing these emissions.  A key technology pathway to emissions reduction and atmospheric stabilization is carbon capture and storage (CCS).  This technology is of particular interest because it can decarbonizes fossil fuel emissions using existing technology, providing a means to reduce GHG emissions substantially while taking advantage of the benefits and infrastructure for fossil fuels. Initial deployment of CCS may be cost-neutral, insofar as early applications have largely focuses on CO₂ injection for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), providing both an environmental and energy security benefit.

The Energy and Environment Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory created a new program, Carbon Management, as a key effort in Earth Systems Science and Engineering. The program has four major focus areas:

1. Reduce the cost of CO₂ separation and capture through novel engineering and geoscience approaches: Currently, this program supports technologies as broad-ranging as advanced membrane nanofabrication, direct carbon fuel cells, and application of desalinization technology to carbon capture. The program elements focus on working from bench-top experiments to commercial testing, and have partnered with large and small companies to meet these goals.
2. Provide science and technology for practical application of carbon storage: This program supports three larger efforts:

o         Development of tools to accurately simulate & predict the fate of CO₂. This involves complex coupled process models, laboratory geochemistry, and experimental and theoretical geomechanics

o         Development and integration of tools for subsurface and surface CO₂ monitoring: This involves development of tools to measure in-situ CO₂ saturation, new means of multi-variate inversion of geological, geochemical, and geophysical data streams, and new approaches to optimization and placement of monitoring arrays

o         Quantification of CO₂ storage capacity and storage risks: This effort involves development of new tools for geographic, quantitative assessments, placing constraints on source terms for CO₂ migration out of reservoirs, and understanding the potential failure modes for CO₂ storage (e.g., wells).

To better serve the nation’s carbon management needs, these efforts will require the integration of geologic and economic models for CO2 storage placement relative to producing fields and tools to optimize CO2 storage reservoirs, pipelines, power generation and carbon markets.

3. Energy System Modeling for Carbon management: This program takes advantage of LLNL’s unique energy systems modeling capabilities to understand how carbon and energy move through networks to understand the abilities of technologies like CCS to reduce CO₂ emissions while maintaining a secure, economically viable energy supply.
4. Improved recovery and management of conventional fossil fuels: This program area focuses on three main areas: Oil Shales, Underground Coal Gasification, and Improved or Enhanced Oil Recovery. In all three areas, there is a dual emphasis on maximizing production in an economic fashion and minimizing environmental impacts including ground-water, atmospheric pollution, and GHG emissions. Our strategy is to provide both the necessary science and technology in collaboration with industry to meet these dual goals.

The students and faculty would be most heavily involved with focus areas 2 and 4, especially of the applicants have experience in GIS systems, subsurface interpretation or operation, or geoscience.

Applicants Responsibilities and Relationship to Project

Applicants will receive support under the Department of Energy Faculty Student Team Research Program (FaST) to work collaboratively with the project research team at LLNL for up to 10 weeks during the year starting in June of 2006, Summer and academic year visits to LLNL will be scheduled by mutual agreement between staff in the Energy and Environmental Directorate department and the successful applicant. Ideally faculty will work at LLNL on the project for 10 weeks during the summer in the first year. Faculty will be expected to identify students from their campus to participate in the FaST program offered by the Department of Energy at LLNL. Faculty will provide some mentorship and/or advising support to students during the summer research activities. It is desired that the Faculty member will become an integral part of the research team working on this project and will support the project through the academic year on her or his campus.

Qualifications of Ideal Candidate

Support and Financial Commitments

See Financial Information.

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