Events Calendar

Astani CEE Department Seminar: Co-Hosted by Daniel J. Esptein Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Speaker: Mitchell Small. H. John Heinz III Professor, Environmental Engineering & Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

Talk Title: Predicting Performance of CO2 Leak Detection at Sequestration Sites

Abstract: As a near-term approach to reduce GHG emissions a number of nations are pursuing the implementation of carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). CCS involves the capture of CO2 and its subsequent injection into geologic formations. However, leakage of the injected CO2 is possible. High leakage rates could pose a threat to health, safety, or environmental quality at a site, while undetected chronic leakage back to the atmosphere could nullify the greenhouse gas mitigation benefits of the project.
To detect and respond to CO2 leakage, effective monitoring technologies and networks are required. A methodology is developed to predict the probability of detecting a leak of a given size based on modeled signals from possible leakage events and statistical tests intended to distinguish these signals
from natural variations in monitored concentrations and fluxes.
The methodology is demonstrated for an idealized site with leak detection implemented using CO2 surface flux and injected tracer measurements. Further applications are planned using additional methods, including measurements of groundwater chemistry, isotopic ratios, and formation pressure profiles.


Biography: Mitchell Small is the H. John Heinz III Professor of Environmental Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). He joined the Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Engineering & Public Policy (EPP) at CMU in 1982, following completion of his Ph.D. in Environmental & Water Resources Engineering at the University of Michigan. He serves as the associate department head for graduate education in EPP.
Professor Small’s research involves mathematical modeling of environmental systems, risk assessment, statistical methods, and decision support. Current projects include the design and evaluation of monitoring networks for leak detection at geologic CO2 sequestration sites; risk assessment and trend evaluation for tropical cyclones; and the development of decision support tools for ecosystem management (current focus on coral reefs) for multiple stakeholders with conflicting beliefs and objectives.

Dr. Small has served as a member of the US EPA Science Advisory Board (SAB) and has been a member of a number of US National Research Council committees addressing issues of environmental risk assessment and management. He is a Fellow and former Secretary of the Society for Risk Analysis, and a feature columnist for the Journal of Industrial Ecology. He recently completed a 16-year appointment as an associate editor for the journal Environmental Science & Technology, with particular responsibility for the environmental modeling and policy analysis sections of the publication.



Host: Prof. Lucio Soibelman

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Evangeline Reyes