Core Flow Analyst for Critical Mineral Recovery and Carbon Storage

The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s. More recently, NETL has a leading role in President Biden’s ambitious climate goals, including a carbon emission-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050.

Program Goals

The NETL Postgraduate Research Program (PGRP) is a high-intensity program designed to identify recent Master’s and Doctoral graduates of high promise and to foster advanced skill development. It allows the postgraduate to systematically outline career goals and helps provide the means of achieving these goals. NETL principal investigators and leads serve as mentors to PGRP participants during the program. This interaction affords the postgraduate a unique opportunity to develop critical skills needed to become an independent professional.

The program goals include providing the opportunity to participants to:

• Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
• Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
• Network with world-class scientists
• Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
• Use state-of-the-art equipment
• Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
• Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities

Project Details

Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a post-Doctoral or post-Master's researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Advanced Carbon Storage under the mentorship of Shelby Isom. This project will be hosted at the NETL Morgantown, WV campus.

This project is related to oil and gas industry produced water management and includes a focus on a novel carbon injection technique and critical mineral recovery. This project is composed of two elements: 1) investigate the impact of carbonated brine on injectivity during produced water disposal and 2) recover critical minerals from metalliferous produced water.

This is an experimental-based project that requires performing research in a lab. The objectives of this study are 1) to provide scientific support for application of carbonated brine injection through Class II wells for saltwater disposal and 2) to collaborate on the development of technology to recover valuable elements from produced water.

Stipend: The selected participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.

• Post-Master's stipend is $6187.50 per month.
• Post-Doctoral stipend is $7486 per month.

Deliverables: To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.
Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.

Qualifications

To be eligible, you must either:

• have received a Doctoral degree within the last five years or be currently enrolled in a Doctoral degree program and complete the degree prior to the appointment start date.
• have received a Master's degree within the last three years or are currently enrolled in a Master's degree program and complete the degree prior to the appointment start date.

The ideal candidate would have some, but not necessarily all, of the following:

• PhD degree in geochemistry, reservoir engineering, geomechanics, environmental engineering, geology, chemical engineering or relevant field operations.
• Knowledge background in geomechanics, fluid behavior, pressure transient, geochemistry, aqueous chemistry, experimental design, solid and liquid sample characterization, data analysis, experience with performing high-temperature and high-pressure core-flood experiments.