The talk will review how the energy landscape might evolve over the decades ahead and the challenges we face if we are to continue, as we must, to use fossil fuels well into the second half of this century.
Geoffrey C Maitland, Professor of Energy Engineering at Imperial College London, will give his personal view on what we need to do to meet the challenging carbon mitigation targets agreed in Paris at COP21, that we must meet to avoid the consequences of catastrophic climate change. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) will play a key role in this.
The current status of this technology will be summarised and some of the research being carried out at Imperial in the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre (QCCSRC) will be described.
The measurement and prediction of the thermophysical properties under reservoir conditions of CO2 mixtures with model and real reservoir fluids will be covered, alongside the use of imaging techniques for studying multiphase flow in porous rocks. QCCSRC is a ten year industrially funded programme, sitting within the Imperial Energy Futures Lab.
Professor Maitland will suggest ways in which chemical engineers can both ensure that we achieve a low-carbon fossil fuels future, and also work more closely with government and other professional bodies to create the right fiscal and political climate to encourage this.
I-SEE seminars are open for all to attend. You are welcome to join us for prior discussions and afternoon tea in the Wessex Restaurant from 4pm to 4:25pm.
Speaker profiles
Geoff Maitland is Professor of Energy Engineering at Imperial College London and a Past President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (2014 to 15).
His career has spanned academia and industry, spending 20 years in oil and gas with Schlumberger and over 20 years at Imperial, first as a young lecturer from 1974 and then from 2005 in his current post. His work is centred on how we can continue to use fossil fuels for most of this century without causing catastrophic climate change.
He is the Founding Director of the Qatar Carbonates and Carbon Storage Research Centre, a $70 million 10 year programme funded by Qatar Petroleum, Shell and Qatar Science and Technology Park, based at Imperial College London, and is currently Director of the Shell-Imperial Digital Rocks Lab.
Who should attend
Open to public