Technologies to Mitigate Environmental Impacts

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Foreword

Research Structures

Energy, Environment, and Biodiversity

Humanities and Ethics

Culture and Education

Society and Development

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Research Structures and Researchers

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Exploring non-conventional resources

Locating energy alternatives and studying ways of anticipating occurrences that are harmful to the environment are among the objectives of theResearch Group in Technologies for the Mitigation of Environmental Impacts, led by geologist Professor João Marcelo Ketzer and co-led by Professor Sandra Einloft.

To identify non-conventional gas reserves, the researchers work on different fronts. Through the Conegas Project, in partnership with Petrobras, marine missions in search of gas hydrates are performed in the Atlantic Ocean. The activity has been performed offshore the Rio Grande do Sul, since 2011. After two manned expeditions and one using a submarine robot, which provided digital images of the ocean floor, the next step is an electromagnetic survey of the location.

On land, in the municipality of Triunfo in the coal region of RS, natural gas deposits are being investigated. Another research target is in situ gasification, which is the transformation of coal in deep areas of the soil to obtain combustible gas rich in hydrogen. Finally, the Shale Gas project (natural gas produced from shales), under negociation, intends to evaluate the potential of this energy source in sedimentary basins in Brazil.

The storage of carbon, an original feature of the group, is the focus of three joint projects: ‘Pré-Sal’, ‘Ressacada’, and ‘Traçadores’. PUCRS, UFSC, and Petrobras study leaks controlled by carbon dioxide in soils that serve as an analogy for studies in environmental remediation and monitoring. The goal is to measure the performance detection of CO2 by equipment and to use tracers (chemical elements injected along with the CO2 for its identification) to monitor the vegetation, water, soil, and air.

To better use the resources of the ‘Pré-sal’ petroleum layer, the team is active in the ‘Pré-Sal’ Geochemistry Project. The purpose is to verify if the CO2 extracted with the fossil fuel and again injected in the location will cause damage to the reservoirs. The investigation seeks to determine the behavior of the rocks – and in the future materials, such as steel and cement – based on numerical and experimental modeling tests, simulating the pressure conditions that exist at 7 km in depth.