News and Information

Alternative Energy - What's developing in the Wings? by W. Lynn Watney, Kansas Geological Survey, KU Energy Research Center

Energy Costs and Conservation by Ken Stalder, Kansas Geological Survey (pdf format - 1.9mb)

ERC Flyer for 2006 (pdf format)

Energy Portfolio

As of August 2006, 25 externally funded energy-related grants and contracts are run through the KU ERC, 11 in fossil energy and 14 in alternative energy.

Alternative Energy & Energy Conservation

• Fuel cell research http://tri.engr.ku.edu/research/foci.html
• Electric motors and batteries
• Energy efficient building design - http://www.saud.ku.edu/mariom/Research-funded.htm
• Biomass utilization – catalysts for gasification and hydrogenation
• Wind Power in Kansas (Kansas Energy Information Network) http://www.kansasenergy.org/wind.htm 

Fossil Energy

• New Project – Funded by Stripper Well Consortium – Reducing Water Production in Mississippian Reservoirs using Gelled Polymer Systems – TORP
• Control of Water Production Using Disproportionate Permeability Reduction in Gelled Polymer Systems – TORP
• Analysis of critical permeability, capillary and electrical properties for Mesaverde tight gas sandstones for western U.S. (DOE) -- KGS
• Evaluating Pore Architecture and Initial Saturation on Wettability and Relative Permeability in Heterogeneous, Shallow-Shelf Carbonates (DOE) -- KGS
• Integrated Subsurface Processing of Landfill Gas and Carbon Sequestration: Collaborative project with Oak Ridge National Lab, Deffenbaugh Industries and Kansas City LFG, LLC – KGS
• Using Biosurfactants Produced from Agricultural Process Waste Streams to Improve Oil Recovery in Fractured Carbonate Reservoirs – J. Liang, C&PE
• Improved Geologic and Engineering Models of Midcontinent Fracture and Karst-Modified Reservoirs Using New 3-D Seismic Attributes – KGS & U of Houston http://www.kgs.ku.edu/SEISKARST
• Field Demonstration of Carbon Dioxide Miscible Flooding in the Lansing-Kansas City Formation - Central Kansas : http://www.kgs.ku.edu/CO2
• Linked Energy Systems -- Co-generation, Ethanol Production and CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/Poster/2002/2002-6
• Polymer gelled systems in IOR http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PTTC/gel/, http://www.torp.ku.edu/research/research- gel.html
• Hugoton Asset Management Project – http://www.kgs.ku.edu/HAMP
• Coal-bed methane – distribution, gas composition, fracture detection http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/publication/2003/ofr2003-27/
• Coal Bed Methane Project http://www.kgs.ku.edu/CBM
• Shallow gas storage issues http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Hydro/Hutch/
• Cost-efficient 3-D seismic modeling; fracture detection http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/publication/2000/ofr84
• Evaluating targets for horizontal drilling http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/publication/OFR99_22/horzdrill.html
• Syngas and gas to liquids using catalysts

Basic Energy Research

• Super-conducting materials
• Non-invasive collider beam monitoring (high-energy physics)
• Energy Analysis (S. White, Asst. Sci., KU ERC)

Energy Informatics and Technology Transfer

• Kansas Energy Information Network (KEIN) -- www.kansasenergy.org Broadening the base for energy studies between Regents Institutions and Kansas Corporation Commission (funded by KCC Energy Office)
• MIDCARB -- Midcontinent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational DataBase, http://www.midcarb.org/
• NATional CARBon Sequestration Database and Geographic Information System (NATCARB) - http://www.natcarb.org/
• GEMINI – Geo-engineering Modeling through INternet Informatics http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Gemini
• North Midcontinent Region PTTC - http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PTTC