VAUGHAN VOLLER

University of Minnesota

Applying thermal computational methodologies for the modeling of carbon mineralization

 

 

BIO

Vaughan Voller is a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering  at the University of Minnesota. His research works focus on computational and analytical methods for solving heat and mass transport problems, e.g., solidification of metals and sedimentary coastal systems. These works have been extensively cited (~19,000 google scholar). As part of the Center for Geo-processes in Mineral Carbon Storage, funded by the US department of Energy, his current interest is directed at carbon sequestration via mineralization.

 

ABSTRACT

Carbon mineralization is a promising technology for the permanent storage of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this sequestration pathway, water charged with dissolved CO2 is pumped into a subsurface reservoir where it reacts with the surrounding rock to form mineralized carbon. The process is governed by transport equations closely related to those used in modeling thermal systems, e.g., advection-diffusion-reaction phenomena and the solidification of metal alloys. This keynote will demonstrate how, from classical scaling analysis to modeling of transport in a media with an evolving porosity field, thermal computational methodologies can be readily applied in the modeling of carbon mineralization.