Events

Speaker:  Dr. Albert J. Valocchi, Abel Bliss Professor of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Seminar Title: “Simulation of Two-Phase Flow in Porous Media: Research at the Illinois Center for Geological Sequestration of CO2”

Abstract:

The Center for Geologic Storage of CO2 (GSCO2) is a new Energy Frontier Research Center led by the Illinois State Geological Survey at the University of Illinois.  The rationale for GSCO2 is to address fundamental science limitations evident from a prior demonstration pilot project on injection of 1 million tonnes of CO2 into a deep saline sandstone reservoir.  In particular, small-scale heterogeneity appeared to have a major control on migration of the injected CO2.  One of the major science themes of GSCO2 is to use numerical models to improve understanding of the migration and storage of CO2 at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. I will give an overview of the modeling activities in the center, focusing on pore-scale simulation using pore-network and lattice Boltzmann models.  I will highlight some of the challenges of working with heterogeneous, low porosity rock samples.

Biography:

Albert J. Valocchi is the Abel Bliss Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  He received his B.S. in Environmental Systems Engineering from Cornell University in 1975 and did his graduate studies at Stanford University in the Department of Civil Engineering, receiving his M.S. in 1976 and Ph.D. in 1981. He has been on the faculty at Illinois since 1981. From 2004 to 2012 he was Associate Department Head and Director of Graduate Studies.  He is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of CUAHSI-the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc.  Valocchi’s research focuses on computational modeling of pollutant fate and transport in porous media, with applications to groundwater contamination, geological sequestration of carbon dioxide, and impacts of model uncertainty on groundwater resources management. He has over 110 refereed journal papers, 10 book chapters, and is co-author of the book In Situ Bioremediation.  In 2009 he was recognized as Fellow of the American Geophysical Union.