Center for Energy Resources Engineering (Department of Chemistry and , Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering), Technical University of Denmark, has an opportunity to support two PhD projects:
1. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Micro-Organisms,
2. Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Enzymes
in the framework of the large project “Biotechnology in Oil Recovery - BioRec”, supported by the Danish National Foundation for Advanced Technologies, Maersk Oil & Gas and DONG Energy.
Description of the project
A four-year BioRec project is focused around behavior and effects of microorganisms in reservoir engineering: Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), hydrate formation and inhibition, and bio-induced corrosion. The goal of the specific subproject is a highly focused investigation of the possible recovery mechanisms of Bio-EOR under conditions of the Danish North Sea reservoirs.
Application of the modern oil recovery methods never leads to complete recovery. Production of few ten percent is often considered to be a success. Can oil recovery be increased by the application of microorganisms and/or enzymes – protein catalysts from living systems? A positive answer would provide the opportunity to produce more oil in a relatively cheap and environmentally safe way.
The task of the PhD student
The tasks of the PhD students will be to carry out a series of laboratory experiments by displacement of oil by water containing bacteria and/or enzymes; and advanced mathematical modeling of the displacement processes under realistic reservoir conditions. Selection of the samples and bio-agents will be carried out in collaboration with industrial partners: Mrsk Oil & Gas, DONG Energy, Novozymes, and Danish Technological Institute.
The students are expected to exhibit creativity, openness to new challenges and interest to independent and nontrivial research.
Approval and Enrolment
The scholarships for the PhD degree are subject to academic approval, and the candidates will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes of DTU. For information about the general requirements for enrolment and the general planning of the scholarship studies, please see the DTU PhD Guide.
Salary and appointment terms
The salary and appointment terms are consistent with the current rules for PhD degree students. The period of employment is 3 years.
