MRRC PhD - Cambridge, United Kingdom - University of Cambridge

Description

Safe Storage of Hydrogen and Carbon Dioxide in Porous Rocks

A fully funded 3.5 year Ph.D studentship is available to UK nationals and outstanding international students, with Professors Lynn Gladden, Mick Mantle and Andy Sederman, to start 1 October 2024.

The potential for porous rocks to play an important role in gas storage is now widely recognised. This project applies our existing expertise in mapping chemical species and fluid flows in rocks to explore the mechanism of entrapment of two different gases carbon dioxide and hydrogen.

The development of carbon dioxide entrapment methods in rocks (more often referred to as a carbon sequestration technology) is more widely recognised. Carbon dioxide can be recovered from the atmosphere and pumped underground and stored for long timescales. However, understanding the storage mechanism is important. What rock core types are most effective? Carbon dioxide can react with the porous rock structure under certain conditions and cause re-emission of carbon dioxide. By mapping the physical and chemical degradation of the rocks during carbon dioxide storage we can begin to understand and hence optimise selection of rocks for carbon dioxide storage. The motivation for hydrogen storage is quite different. Hydrogen storage in porous rocks has been proposed as a safe and efficient medium for large-scale energy storage. The need arises because there will be days when weather conditions are such that large-scale renewable energy production is achieved which outstrips demand. On other days there will be too little renewables production. The solution is to store the excess energy as molecular hydrogen underground, to be recovered during periods of low renewables generation. Hydrogen storage is a relatively new area of research and is of increasing importance. For both carbon dioxide and hydrogen storage understanding and maximizing their storage is essential. In the case of carbon dioxide subsequent release is highly undesirable, whereas in the case of hydrogen, ready access to the hydrogen is required.

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 3.5 years in the first instance.

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