02.10.2024 by Aileen Sammler
Rheology and Environmental Solutions: A Global Approach to Mitigating Green House Gas Emissions
This field report discusses the efforts by Professor Ian Frigaard and his team at the University of British Columbia, Canada, to understand and control gas bubble dynamics in Yield StressYield stress is defined as the stress below which no flow occurs; literally behaves like a weak solid at rest and a liquid when yielded.yield stress fluids, such as those found in oil sands tailings ponds, to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Their research explores the rheological properties of model fluids like Carbopol gels and Laponite suspensions to better understand bubble entrapment and release mechanisms. Studies were made using the NETZSCH Kinexus rheometer. The findings have broad implications for reducing emissions in various industries, including mining, nuclear waste storage, and wastewater treatment.
High Goals: Net-Zero Emissions by 2050
In June 2021, Canada took a significant step toward climate action by enacting the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which aims to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. This commitment underscores the urgency for all industries to examine their emissions footprint and minimize their environmental impacts. The oil sands industry is under the spotlight due to its major contributions to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions. Recent data indicates that in 2020, approximately seven megatons of methane and carbon dioxide were emitted from oil sands tailings ponds, where the by-products of the oil sands production process are stored.
Regions such as Canada, the United States, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa all face similar challenges with tailings ponds, particularly in their mining and oil extraction industries.
Professor Ian Frigaard and his team at the University of British Columbia's (UBC) Complex Fluids Group are tackling the issue from a fluid mechanics perspective. They aim to understand the mechanism of bubbles stability and migration in these systems, its link to the rheology of material and eventually engineer the system such that the gas bubbles release and entrapment can be controlled in an advantageous way. Their research holds significant potential not only for Canada but for all countries where industrial by-products must be stored safely and efficiently. From nuclear waste storage sites to gas emission from oil wells in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Latin America, and even sewage treatment facilities in Europe, understanding the dynamics of gas bubbles in viscoplastic fluids could greatly impact global efforts to reduce emissions and promote sustainable practices.
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