InterPore2024

Plenary Speakers

	Zhangxing (John) Chen Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China / University of Calgary, Canada
Title: Reservoir Simulator Development: The Past, Present and Future Abstract: Reservoir simulators have been developed in the past 70 years. They have been widely used to predict, understand, and optimize complex physical processes in modeling and simulation of multiphase fluid flow in petroleum reservoirs. These simulators are important for understanding the fate and transport of chemical species and heat and maximizing the economic and environmental performance of exploration and production of fossil fuel energy. The development of reservoir simulators has been concentrated on conventional oil and gas reservoirs in the last century, and efficient black oil, compositional and thermal simulators have been successful in their application to the recovery of conventional oil and gas resources. As these conventional resources dwindle, the recovery of unconventional oil and gas (such as heavy oil, oil sands, tight and shale oil and gas, and coalbed methane) resources is now at the center stage. While the development of unconventional reservoir simulators has been focused on in this century, a lot of challenges still exist because of the significant differences between conventional and unconventional reservoirs in their multi-scale phenomena, fluid occurrence states, flow mechanisms, and production technologies. The speaker has engaged in the development of reservoir simulators for over 30 years. His group has developed parallel and intelligent simulators that can efficiently simulate complex fluid flow problems with giga (billion) grid block cells and reduce simulation time from days to seconds. For over ten years, his group has also incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing algorithms into these reservoir simulators. Fast and accurate simulators can increase energy production due to full utilization of available data and better understanding of the chemical and physical mechanisms involved, process designs and uncertainty analyses. In this plenary presentation, the speaker will give an overview on the development of conventional and unconventional reservoir simulators, the incorporation of parallel and AI algorithms into these simulators, and the quantum computing potential to solve reservoir simulation problems. The present status, existing challenges, and future prospects on reservoir simulators will be emphasized in this plenary presentation. Bio: Professor Chen holds Chair Professorship at Eastern Institute of Technology, Ningbo, China and NSERC/Energi Simulation Industrial Research Chair and Alberta Innovates Industrial Chair at the University of Calgary, Canada. His PhD (1991) is from Purdue University, USA. He has authored/co-authored 25 books, published over 1,100 research articles, and owned 41 patents. Dr. Chen is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering and Energy Institute of Canada, and an Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and European Union Academy of Sciences. Dr. Chen has received numerous prestigious awards, such as The Friendship Medal of The People’s Republic of China, NSERC’s Synergy Award for Innovation, The Outstanding Leadership in Alberta Technology Award, IBM Faculty Award, Imperial Oil Research Award, Fields-CAIMS Prize, Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowship Award, and SPE’s Technical Excellence and Achievements Award. According to Elsevier Scopus, his publications have been ranked #1 in terms of the overall scholarship in reservoir simulation in the world. His research interest is in Reservoir Engineering, Reservoir Simulation and Hydrogen Production.
	Susumu Kitagawa Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS) Kyoto University, Japan
Title: Chemistry and Application of Soft Porous Crystal
	Svetlana Mintova CNRS, Laboratory of Catalysis and Spectrochemistry (LCS), ENSICAEN, Normandy University, France
Title: Nanosized Zeolites with Exceptional Adsorption Properties Abstract: The transition of the global energy system from traditional fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable energy sources and processes necessitates the development of new materials and the reinvention of existing ones. Zeolites will play a key role in facilitating this transition due to their exceptional qualities, which make them valuable in essential catalytic and adsorption processes, such as carbon capture and storage. The zeolites used in these processes consist of micrometer-scale particles. Consequently, small molecules must diffuse a distance approximately tens of thousands of times their own size through the particles. This results in a relatively large mass transfer zone within a fixed bed configuration, limiting the usable capacity in separation processes. Nanozeolites offer several key advantages over their conventional micron-sized counterparts, such as high surface-to-volume ratios that provide greater access to more active sites, rapid diffusion properties, and rich chemistry. Furthermore, the direct synthesis using inorganic structure-directing agents ensures the formation of nanozeolites with uniform elemental composition and desirable adsorption properties, eliminating the need for post-synthetic calcination treatment. In this presentation, I will discuss the synthesis of nanosized zeolites with various sizes, morphologies, and framework structures by tailoring the crystallization process. The diffusion properties of the nanosized zeolites were studied through breakthrough curve analysis, revealing exceptionally sharp curves indicative of rapid diffusion due to the nanosized crystals and desired morphology. The unique adsorption properties of nanozeolites make them interesting candidates for gas separation applications in humid streams. Acknowledgments: This research was co-funded by the European Union (ERC, ZEOLIghT, 101054004). The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. The author acknowledges the Label of Excellence: Centre for Zeolites and Nanoporous Materials supported by the Region of Normandy (CLEAR).
	Changying Zhao Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China
Title: Multiscale Considerations on Porous Media Heat Transfer