Center for Energy, University of Pittsburgh
positioning our region for the future.
Carbon Management and Utilization
This includes carbon capture and storage, carbon reduction and offsetting technologies such as hybrid systems that utilize nuclear or renewable systems, and the efficient conversion of carbon to alternative fuels.
Combustion and Synfuels
This research is concentrated on turbulent combustion with the objective of increasing fuel efficiency and reducing the pollutants associated with exhaust emissions. Advanced design of combustion systems such as automobile engines, gas turbines, aircraft and spacecraft propulsion systems, and industrial burners is emphasized because they fully rely on accurate modeling of turbulent reacting flow inside them. Computational simulations are also performed that study the underlying physics in energy systems. Current general areas of investigations are turbulent mixing, chemically reacting flows, and high-speed combustion and propulsion.
Carbon Capture and Storage
In conjunction with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), researchers at Pitt are developing novel methods and materials for capturing carbon dioxide. The overall goal of this work is to develop cost-effective technologies for removing carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust gas (flue gas). The successful application of this technology would allow continued use of abundant fossil fuel resources (natural gas and coal) in the short run without significantly contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.