Carbon Management and Fossil Energy
Casie Davidson
Manager
(509) 372-6259
Biography
Despite global efforts to transition away from carbon-emitting energy sources like coal, oil, and natural gas, fossil fuels are projected to lead the global energy mix for the foreseeable future. Until the bridge to renewable energy is crossed, PNNL scientists and engineers are dedicated to reducing the environmental impacts of hydrocarbon production and use, especially emissions—including greenhouse gases produced by fossil fuels—on Earth's atmosphere
From fundamental process understanding to field-scale design and deployment, our researchers deliver advanced capabilities in subsurface science and simulation to enable safe and effective control of subsurface fluid injection and extraction. We also integrate chemistry, materials, and process engineering to develop technologies that more efficiently convert fossil hydrocarbons into power, fuels, and chemicals—all critical to environmentally and economically viable production and use of fossil energy.
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Tracking Injected Fluids: A Seismic Contrast Agent Breakthrough
Researchers at PNNL are developing a new class of acoustically active nanomaterials designed to improve the high-resolution tracking of exploratory fluids injected into the subsurface. Once deployed in the field as stable injectable liquid, the new acoustic metamaterials could disrupt current technologies and improve the way subsurface geophysical monitoring and mapping is done.
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Student Research Spotlighted in Prestigious Journal
Jamey Bower leveraged two summers of chemistry research at PNNL—through the SULI program—into a lead author role. The peer-reviewed journal article in the prestigious Applied Materials and Interfaces shows that potassium-loaded zeolite material was best at adsorbing carbon dioxide under industrial conditions.
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Capturing FutureGen 2.0
Over the last few decades, carbon capture and storage approaches have been developed to capture carbon dioxide and inject it into underground reservoirs. FutureGen 2.0 was a project that aimed to develop these approaches at the industrial scale. Although support for this project ended in 2015, FutureGen 2.0 provided valuable information and tangible results.