SUSTAINABILITY, ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Our ability to provide for the worlds growing population is underpinned by the availability of abundant energy, but for too long the environmental price of pollution has been ignored. In the course of the next generation, the way we think about energy will change.

For the first time communities will have an overt and noble mission, to provide for both the immediate needs of today, as well as to guarantee a quality of life and availability of sustenance for humanity for scores of generations to come.

One day we will have abundant, clean energy , but until that time we will need to minimise the harm we cause. For the foreseeable future, nuclear and coal fired power will continue to be the base load source of energy for a large proportion of the worlds population and to varying degrees, the way in which we use these energy sources now conflict with one, or both parts of our mission.

CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

The idea of geological sequestration of C02 is simple in theory, but in practice there are many obstacles to be overcome. At BAE, we are devoting a significant proportion of our internal research capacity to solving some of the most complex issues involved in simulating this process. Most practical CO2 sequestration on a large scale will be undertaken by injecting CO2 in a supercritical fluid state into depleted oil reservoirs or permeable strata. As can be seen in the phase diagram above, there are temperature and pressure ranges that limit the environments in which this can occur.

Fig. Carbon dioxide pressure-temperature phase diagram

Applied mechanics engineers will need to be able to simulate:

• existing conditions in oil reservoirs conditioned and de‐stressed by prior extraction of oil and gas
• the mechanical effects of injection of the fluid into old reservoirs and other storage
  environments
• guarantee with very high levels of certainty that CO2 will never escape.

BAE are making a start to improve the science that is applied to these problems. We are building models and developing techniques that make fewer assumptions and achieve better similitude with the problem. We will be building on our existing capabilities simulating extreme environments, and partnering with the best experts in the field.

NUCLEAR WASTE STORAGE

Nuclear power from fission is controversial, but as the cost of emitting CO2 increases, and as the consequences of global warming become clearer, nuclear power could easily become a greater part of our economy. Either as a transitional source of power until fusion, solar or other totally renewable, potentially even cleaner sources are developed, or in a much longer term role it is difficult to foresee how it will not be a part of the solution, albeit one with its own environmental considerations.

Safe storage of nuclear material can be achieved. The conditions for this are well known, The issue is to certify the safety of storage, with a certainty required by regulators and the community.

BAE believe that we are at the beginning of a step change in geotechnical engineering, when monitoring and measurement of the geological environment will experience significant improvements.
Coupled with this improved quantification of our environment, accurate, reliable, higher order, multi‐scale, non linear analysis will enable rapid, resilient forecasting of stability and other issues for waste repositories.

We are devoting significant energy to identifying opportunities to improve how we assess waste storage facilities and other stability‐critical excavations. In the near future we will work very hard to assist regulators in Australia and around the world to better satisfy the community that the by‐products of nuclear power can, and will be stored safely.

Fig: Break down of rock mass damage types in a model of a large, stability critical excavation simulated using the Levkovitch Reusch constitutive model

For enquires regarding BAEs sequestration research, contact Dr David Beck at enquiries@beckarndt.com.au.