Increased Oil and Natural Gas Production, Methane Emissions, and Climate

March 23, 2022
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm

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Program Series:
Technology and Engineering

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This program is part of the IIT Distinguished Lectureship Series (VIRTUAL).

Hydrocarbon products derived from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing of shale formations (shale gas and shale oil) have greatly expanded U.S. oil and natural gas production, and have made the United States the world’s largest natural gas and petroleum producer. Collectively, these resources have transformed North America’s energy landscape.

However, the environmental impacts associated with ‘‘fracking’’ for shale gas and oil have made the process controversial. This presentation will focus on one of the environmental issues associated with shale gas and oil production: the emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  Data from recent field studies will be summarized and the role of “super-emitting” sources will be described. Super-emitting sources are often due to equipment malfunction, so quickly identifying and repairing these sources can significantly reduce emissions. The potential role of continuous emission measurements in identifying super-emitting sources will be described and the design and deployment of a first of its kind methane sensor network in the Permian Basin of West Texas will be discussed. Finally, the presentation will conclude with a discussion of sustainability in engineering education. Most engineering programs in the United States now incorporate concepts of sustainability, in some way, into their educational programs. The diverse educational practices used to address sustainability in engineering curricula will be described. The summary will be based on a survey of more than 1,500 Department Chairs and Program Heads from 366 engineering colleges in the United States and will be integrated into a proposed body of knowledge on sustainability, suitable for incorporation into engineering curricula.

Event Details

Wednesday, March 23rd from 3:30-4:30 pm CT via Illinois Tech YouTube.

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Featured Guests

Dr. David Allen

Gertz Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering & Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources
The University of Texas at Austin
 
Member, U.S. National Academy of Engineering
Recipient, Eni Energy Transition Award

Dr. David Allen is the Gertz Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering, and the Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Resources, at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Allen has been a lead investigator for multiple air quality measurement studies, including studies that made some of the first measurements of methane emissions from unconventional oil and gas production. He has served on a variety of governmental advisory panels and, from 2012 to 2015, chaired the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board. In 2017, he was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering and in 2020 he received the Eni Energy Transition Award. Dr. Allen received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University in 1979. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Chemical Engineering were awarded by the California Institute of Technology in 1981 and 1983.