WVU professor receives $100,000 grant to improve natural gas utilization processes
Thursday, September 8, 2016
The American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research fund recently awarded $110,000 to West Virginia University engineering professor Fernando Lima to improve natural gas utilization processes, according to the West Virginia Record.
The funding will allow Lime and his students to study the design of membrane reactors for the direct the direct methane aromatization conversion to chemicals and fuels. According to a WVU press release, methane aromatization is a chemical reaction that creates hydrogen and benzene — important elements in producing complex chemicals and fuels.
Lima’s research aligns with the Marcellus Shale boom and the formation of WVU’s Shale Gas Center.
The grant arrived in the wake of the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s issuance of its Clean Power Plan as West Virginia searches for ways to adapt to the required changes.
Learn more: West Virginia Record > Professor wants to use grant to put WVU at forefront of gas utilization
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.