STS AIChE September 2016 Monthly Dinner Meeting Workshops

UEFA Workshop

Visualizing  Oil Flow Processes Using Microfluidic Devices

Abstract

Asphaltene deposition is a common cause of significant flow assurance problems in wellbores and production equipment as well as near-wellbore regions in oil reservoirs. My lab has generated micromodels, which are combined with high-speed imaging to visualize asphaltene deposition and transport in microfluidic devices with permeability contrasts, fractures, and multiple phases.  The wettability of these surfaces can be altered to mimic the heterogeneous wettability found in reservoir systems. I will discuss how this understanding has allowed us to design better strategies to address asphaltenes deposition in porous media.

Bio

Dr. Sibani Lisa Biswal is an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice University in Houston, TX and leads the Soft Matter Engineering Laboratory. She has a B.S in chemical engineering from Caltech (1999) and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University (2004).  She is the recipient of an ONR Young Investigator Award (2008), a National Science Foundation CAREER award (2009), Rice U. Graduate Student Association Faculty Teaching and Mentoring Award (2012), and the Southwest Texas Section AICHE Best Fundamental Paper Award (2014).

Environmental Workshop

Biological Control of Water Quality

Abstract

Acceptable water quality is dependent on the end-use of the water.  Thus, the end-use of the water will drive the water treatment methods employed.  In this talk, we will look at how biological contaminants affect water quality especially where the water may be stored for any length of time.  This talk will also address the meaning of appropriate water quality from the industrial process water use perspective and provide an overview the treatment methods used to achieve water quality objectives.    

Bio

Keisha Antoine obtained a B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 2001 and a M. Eng. and PhD in Materials Science & Engineering in 2004 and 2007, respectively, all from Lehigh University.  She is the holder of one patent and is a registered professional engineer in the state of NY.  Keisha has nearly 8 years of industrial experience working on glass processes and functionalization, carbon footprint and energy analyses at Corning Incorporated, a Fortune 500 technology company.  In 2015, Keisha went into private practice and opened her own technical services consulting firm, Antoine Technical Consulting LLC, providing process design, scale-up and water management solutions to manufacturers principally in the chemical process industries.  She is a current member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).