Sanjay Srinivasan named Earth and Mineral Sciences Energy Institute director
Sanjay Srinivasan, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, has been named director of the Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (EMS) Energy Institute (EI), effective July 1.
Professor selected as Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer
Arash Dahi Taleghani, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering at Penn State, will serve as a 2022-23 Society of Petroleum Engineers Distinguished Lecturer. The SPE distinguished lecturer program seeks to provide outstanding speakers for the organization’s section meetings and to recognize the professional contributions of the distinguished lecturers, according to the society.
New process developed to extract high purity rare earth element oxides
Critical minerals, including rare earth elements, are used to power devices like smartphones and computers and are essential to our nation’s economy and national security. Penn State’s Center for Critical Minerals has developed a new purification process that extracts mixed rare earth oxides from acid mine drainage and associated sludges at purities of 88.5%
Fossil fuel past, green future: Abandoned wells may offer geothermal power
Tapping into abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, products of the state’s long history of energy extraction — could provide a future source of affordable geothermal energy, according to Penn State scientists.
Power plant pipe corrosion focus of industry research project
A team of researchers at Penn State is investigating how contaminants in power plant water cycles affect the integrity of steel pipes and tubing in power generation systems.
Luis Ayala named distinguished member by Society of Petroleum Engineers
Luis Ayala, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering and holder of the William A. Fustos Family Professor in Energy and Mineral at Penn State, has been honored as a distinguished member by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Scientists improve process for turning hard-to-recycle plastic waste into fuel
Turning plastic waste into useful products through chemical recycling is one strategy for addressing Earth's growing plastic pollution problem. A new study may improve the ability of one method, called pyrolysis, to process hard-to-recycle mixed plastics — like multilayer food packaging — and generate fuel as a byproduct, the scientists said.
New model to help reframe the transition to low-carbon electric power
Governments and societies around the world face increasing urgency in responding to climate change by accelerating the transition to a low-carbon energy system but differing views remain on the combination of energy technologies that will best achieve this goal. Identifying technological pathways is complicated by wide uncertainties in economic and technological factors.
Penn State, Aramco commemorate gift in kind, continued partnership
A recent gift of a Thermotron humidity chamber from energy company Aramco Americas will support numerous research projects in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
Sara Andreoli receives EMS award for excellence in research
Sara Andreoli, a postdoctoral researcher who recently completed her appointment with the Earth and Mineral Sciences Energy Institute at Penn State, received the esteemed 2022 EMS Postdoctoral Excellence in Research Award.